Broken Brotherhood
by Sinares
Summary: Yugi's death comes all too early for Yami. Now he is tracking Yugi's murderer, but soon he'll wish he never had. For he's about to remember his assassin's deadliest secret, one that has eluded his memory for 5000 years. One that is his secret as well.
1. The Summoning

_**Author's Note: Reposted to my profile. I do not own all of this story; DreamerofLegends and I wrote it together, so be sure to give her some praise too! **_

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Yugioh there would have been a lot more hugs. **_

"Finally, after all this time, I have done it." Bakura practically growled, his eyes alight with malice. "With the powers of the Shadows in my grasp, I have finally discovered a way to weaken the almighty _Pharaoh_." He spat, pacing back and forth within the Realm of Shadows. He clasped his hands eagerly in anticipation, his breath coming in quick gasps. All of his meticulous planning, his careful studying of their previous duels, he had finally figured out a way to make sure that that pest Yugi would never be able to bother him again. He could finally silence them, and be able to bring his own plans to pass without any interference.

He took a deep breath and began to chant softly, waving his hands in graceful patterns and beginning the spell that would change their lives forever.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Welcome, to the grand opening of Kaiba Land!" Roland yelled into the microphone. A deafening roar erupted from the huge crowd that stood before the moonlit stage; nearly all of Domino had turned up to celebrate this epic event. Kaiba had finally managed make his childhood dream come true, and the very first amusement park was situated smack in the middle of the city. Mokuba had arranged a huge celebration in honor of the big opening, and they had rented one of the more popular bands to be playing tonight.

"We hope you all enjoy the show, it begins at midnight." Roland explained. "But for now, relax, and enjoy the wonders of the festival!" Another cheer, and then they dispersed, heading for the many games and rides that dotted the vast park.

"Let's go on the 'Rocket Launcher'!" Tristan pointed to a large and rather intimidating looking ride that loomed above them.

"Pfft, sure, if you wanna stick to the kiddie rides." Joey scoffed heartily and pointed to an even larger ride that towered over the rest with pride. "Everybody knows that 'Chaos Melody' is guaranteed to make ya toss your cookies!"

"Eww." Tea made a face. "Why on earth would you _want_ to get sick?"

"That's what makes it fun!" They cheered in unison, running off to seek their respective thrills. Tea sighed.

"I guess I'd better make sure they don't do anything _too___stupid. You coming Yugi?"

"Nah that's okay, I'll let them have their fun." He laughed. "I'll stick to the game section, that's where my talents lie anyway." He smiled, clearly excited, and she laughed too.

"Alright. We'll come find you in about an hour." She glanced at her watch. "Is that enough time for you?"

"That will be perfect, thanks Tea!"

"See you then!" She called back, weaving in and out of the crowd. Yugi turned to the many rows of stalls, their colored lights and soft toys beckoning to him eagerly.

"Let's get started." He grinned.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Forty-five minutes later, Yugi was nearly staggering under the weight of a massive armload of toys. Yami was staring at him with his mouth wide open.

"Why didn't you tell me you were so good at carnival games?" He breathed, completely overawed.

"Why didn't you ask?" Yugi giggled. "Besides, as 'King of Games', I have a reputation to uphold." He was trying to look over the pile of plush in his hands so he could see where he was going, but he wasn't having much success. All of a sudden, a couple of rowdy teenagers pushed through the crowd rudely, hooting and hollering with wild abandon. One of them slammed into Yugi without so much as a mumbled apology as he blasted past. "Whoa!" Yugi stumbled and nearly fell over backwards, but fortunately Yami managed to catch him and keep a precarious hold on all the animals.

"Thanks Yami, that was close." Yugi smiled, and despite having nearly been bowled over his cheery mood seemed unaffected. Yami on the other hand, once he was sure Yugi was all right, glared after the boys with venom.

"Someone should teach them a lesson." He growled under his breath. Yugi was checking to see if he still had all of his toys in his arms.

"Who?" He asked absently.

Yami started slightly. "Those men that nearly ran you over." He stated bluntly, clearly upset.

When Yugi looked up and saw the anger reflected in Yami's eyes his smile faltered a bit. "Hey." He said softly. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure they didn't mean to do that. Besides, look at me Yami, not even a bruise." He smiled wider in an attempt to ease his friend's anger. Yami just shook his head as they continued on. How Yugi could be so forgiving was beyond him.

They stopped to rest for a moment at a large table situated near the borders of the park, jammed in between hastily constructed vendor carts filled with cotton candy and various other junk foods. Yugi had all of his animals spread out on the table in front of him, and he was ticking off names on his fingers.

"One for Joey, and for Tristan, one for Tea, Mai and Duke, Bakura, Grandpa, Mokuba, Kaiba..." He counted out the animals on the table quickly, assigning each one to a person. "There, I think that's everyone."

"What about you?" Yami asked. "Didn't you get one for yourself?"

"I don't need one really," Yugi admitted quietly. "Just giving other people a smile is a good enough gift for me."

Yami sat back as he pondered Yugi's words, watching as he picked out names for all of the toys to help pass the time. It was so like Yugi to look out for everyone but himself. It was in his nature, selflessly caring first for others, and then seeing to his own needs. His heart shone with more light than the Ra-blessed sun, and it truly amazed Yami at how little affected the youth in a negative manner.

_Those teens for example._ He mused to himself. _I was angry with them right away, but Yugi forgave and forgot the incident almost instantly. What a pure soul he is, able to see past the pains of everyday life to look only at the silver lining._ With that inspiring and comforting thought in mind, Yami tried to follow his example. He took a few deep breaths and attempted to let go of his anger and push the matter from his thoughts. He looked up at the full moon as he concentrated, willing the anger to leave him. It was hard, but he was confident that with enough time he could grow to be more like his friend.

_Speaking of which,_ he thought, his mind traveling down an entirely new path. _That gives me an idea..._

Yugi seemed to sense the change in his attitude, for he looked up at Yami with a searching expression. The hard lines on Yami's face had been erased, and his eyes were softened with a touch more compassion and understanding. Yami looked down and caught Yugi's violet gaze in his own, he even managed a little smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Yugi asked him, curious. Yami shrugged.

"Just wondering what's taking them so long to show up." He answered. "I think I'll go look for them." It wasn't a lie really, he was wondering where they were, but he needed to see to something else first.

"Alright, I'll stay here then. Don't be gone too long."

"I won't." He promised, and as he disappeared into the crowd Yugi heard him call back over his shoulder:

"And no talking to strangers!"

Yugi rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated huff. _I'm not a child, thank you very much._ He mumbled through their mental connection. Honestly, Yami could be so over-protective sometimes.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

A low, rhythmic, chant echoed through the blackness. Bakura's Millennium Ring was glinting with a sickly sheen in the night, as he worked to harness it's unmatched powers. He could sense his weaker half pushing against his control, for the child had developed quite a bond with the Pharaoh's vessel. But he just snarled inwardly and beat the 'good' Bakura into submission. He did not take pleasure in torturing the inhabitant of this body, but it would not do to lose the spell now. He grunted in satisfaction as the youth slipped into unconsciousness. That matter of business completed, he again focused his attention on the completion of his incantation.

As his chanting reached a crescendo, his ring flashed once blindingly, and pointed straight into the black heart of the Shadow Realm. Bakura flung his hands out in front of him, dark energy crackling from his fingertips.

"Darkness, hear my call!" He roared. "Submit to my will and obey my command! I am your master!"

An unearthly howl tore through the night at his words, ringing with arrogance and anger. The sentient shadows that made up this nightmarish place rose to meet the challenge with fury, unleashing their suffocating mental attacks upon the impudent mortal. He felt an intense pressure welling up inside of his head, but he stubbornly fought against it as a display of his strength of mind. He sensed the shadows were hesitating, confused at the sheer defensive power of Bakura's thoughts. They attacked again, this time more powerfully, pounding against his mental barriers so that they might consume his mind.

But Bakura had danced with the razor edge of death many times before, and he knew that his will was strong enough to hold off the choking blackness.

The mental assault continued for many long moments, sweat beaded on his skin and his whole body trembled under the stress. But his eyes gleamed with a maniacal, almost psychotic luster, and his wolfish grin only widened as the moments wore on. Soon enough he sensed a weakness in the Shadow Realm, and this time _he_ slashed at it violently. At once the pressure vanished, and the shadows backed away. Bakura threw back his head and laughed, howling with a startling intensity.

"That's better!" He smirked, his thin lips parted in a slight snarl. "Now, mighty realm of eternal night, I summon thee! Bring me your King!"

Insane screams shattered the silence, and he beheld a large, man-sized bulge appear out of the very air itself. _Something_ was attempting to break through the very fabric of reality: the veil between the realms. He held his breath in eager anticipation.

A tiny rip appeared at the tip of the pulsating bubble, from which snarls and shrieks could be heard. Suddenly, the head of a dagger plunged through the barrier, slowly tearing a slit wide enough for a full-grown man to slip through. As the figure crossed the planes between their two worlds, Bakura could see behind him a great many shapeless horrors crowding eagerly at the opening, seeking their chance to escape their prison. But none dared to approach so long as the man stood at the entryway. The man casually waved his hand, and the portal behind him closed with hardly a whisper. Bakura knelt on the ground before him, respectfully lowering his gaze.

"Why have you summoned me, wielder of the Millennium Ring?" The man demanded, sounding bored.

"Who better to help me destroy the Pharaoh?" Bakura answered, adding softly: "My King."

The figure appraised him with a searching gaze. Then he finally spoke, in a voice colder than the northern wind, "What did you have in mind?"

Bakura stood and faced the king eagerly. "The dagger." He breathed. "The blade of separation, of Chaos."

Understanding dawned upon the man's regal features, as he held the pearl-bladed dagger in front of his eyes. Already a plan was formulating in his dark mind, and he smiled a sadistic smile beneath the cowl of his cloak. His servant had done well.

Bakura was not paying any attention, images of bloody glory dancing behind his eyes. "With this blade we can destroy them. Both of them. And with the false king so weakened by it's mighty powers, we can work together to easily finish him!"

Then he blinked, coming out of his fantasy suddenly to find the man's pale face inches from his own. Blood red orbs pierced him, mocked him. The man raised the back of his hand and stroked Bakura's jaw line, the icy touch making him shiver.

"Good, my servant." He purred, his voice perfectly calm. He was the picture of outward control, but those eyes! They were chaos incarnate, insanity twisting behind their swirling depths. "But there is a flaw in your plan." The man murmured.

"What flaw?" Bakura demanded, forgetting momentarily whom he was addressing. "This is foolproof, nothing could possibly go wrong."

The man's eyes narrowed dangerously, but his voice remained smooth, soft. "A small problem, but it is easily remedied." He murmured. Unbeknownst to Bakura, the man's other hand, the one clutching the dagger, was poised at the small of his back. "First, I work alone." Bakura jerked as the magical blade plunged into him, spreading an icy numbness throughout his entire body. His knees buckled and he pitched forward; the man caught and held him easily. "And second, I still need him. He and I have much to discuss in such a short time..."

Bakura gaped at the man in horror, seething with the rage born of a man betrayed. He clutched at his shirt, wondering how long his heart would keep beating.

"Do not fear, I shall not kill you." The man whispered tenderly, as a parent would address a child. "I will simply make sure that you remember nothing of this day." Bakura's vision swam as the magical energy burned through his veins. His eyes were fixed on the man's face with shock, but he could not move.

The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the man licking the blood off of the dagger with a long, forked tongue.

_**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review!**_


	2. Betrayal

_**Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long update; I wasn't near a computer for a while. Also, thanks for favouriting and reviewing the story, it means a lot.**_

Yami slipped through the crowd of people easily, gliding smoothly over the pavement with a ghostly air. His purple eyes flicked back and forth among the loud and colorful stalls, waiting for something to catch his eye.

_Where is it?_ He wondered silently. He did not even know what he was looking for, but he knew he would recognize it when he found it. Suddenly, he caught a flash of something out of the corner of his eye that made him pause in his search. A card stand full of brightly colored Duel Monsters stood for display in the midst of a large crowd of eager young duelists, and in the all the commotion he was able to slip through to the front easily. Instantly, one trap card seemed to jump out at him, one that he had never seen before, much to his surprise. It depicted a man grabbing another man by the throat and stabbing him through with a knife. The wound glowed with pale light, which Yami found faintly disturbing. A sudden cloud passed through his thoughts, and he felt faintly sick. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Since when did Duel Monsters cards disturb him? He picked it up and scanned it's effect with an expert's eye.

"Instantly removes the monster with the highest attack points from your opponent's deck or on their side of the field from play.'" He murmured. Excellent, Yugi's deck needed a little extra firepower anyway, this would be the perfect gift for him. Yami snapped up the card and discreetly slipped a few coins into the vendor's apron pouch. He figured that the coins would be at least twice the value of the card, but the price was well worth it to bring a smile to the face of he who lived and breathed to keep others smiling.

Once he was sure that no one had noticed a random card floating seemingly by itself disappear from sight, he whisked it away and went searching for their friends.

XxxxxxxxX

Yugi drummed his fingers on the table absently, staring off into space with his chin in the palm of his hand. He jolted suddenly as a prickly feeling shot down his spine, it felt like someone was staring at him intently. Then, the softest whisper echoed through the darkness behind him and he froze, _praying_ that he had misheard. He waited for a second, ears straining to catch the slightest hint of confirmation. When the only noise that came back to him was the wind brushing against the pavement, he relaxed a little.

"That's weird..." He murmured to no one in particular. "I could have sworn I just heard-"

"Yugi!" The anguished cry resounded from the dark mouth of the alleyway just beyond the light of the festival. Yugi gasped, he would know that voice from anywhere.

"Yami!" He cried out, jumping to his feet so fast he nearly upset the table. "Yami what happened? Where are you?" He cried, taking a step forward, but glancing around in the hopes that Yami's voice had come from somewhere other that the deep darkness. The voice came again, but this time it was faint, as though he was moving away. He only caught snatches of the words, but what he heard was enough to make him go cold inside.

"Yugi... Bakura! I can't fight him off... run!"

"Oh no..." He moaned, rushing forward without a second thought and plunging himself into the alley. As he did so, he noticed a shadow flickering on the wall just ahead of him as Bakura rounded the corner. Another pained call echoed through the night.

"Hold on Yami, I'm coming!" He cried, sprinting forward as fast as his legs would carry him. Just before he reached the shadow it retreated, and as he blew around the corner it re-appeared on the wall at the end of the new corridor. Again and again he chased after it, in some twisted game of cat and mouse, and it did not take a genius to figure out that Bakura was obviously leading him into a trap. But where? And why?

Trap or no trap though, he was not about to let Bakura get away. Yugi was breathing hard, his footsteps pounding into the hard cement with jarring impact. His mind was racing furiously, trying to figure out what on earth was going on. As he turned more and more corners, running deeper and deeper into the heart of the city's underbelly, his thoughts began keeping time with the rhythm of his pace.

_How did Bakura get to him? I thought the Puzzle would protect him! But he was so far away... who knows what could have happened?_ He could not bear to think about it, he charged forward with renewed determination. He could sense he was getting closer, so he used what was left of his breath to call out again.

"Yami?"

"Yugi, run! Please, I cannot hold him any longer..." His voice sounded... different. It must have been the pain that made his voice strange, and that thought spurred him on faster.

"I'm not leaving you!" He yelled back, and put on a last burst of speed to close the gap between the fleeing shadow.

At last he cornered them. Bakura stood with his back to Yugi, in front of a running fountain that shone in the silver moonlight. He was cloaked in his customary long black coat, but a hood covered his head. He could not see Yami, but Yugi figured that if Bakura had managed to grab him, then he would likely be keeping him out of sight.

He straightened as much as he could, trying to stand strong. "Bakura, this has gone far enough. Give him back."

A chilling laugh echoed from the depths of the cowl. "As you wish." Then he spun around, and Yugi's knees nearly gave out. He stared into the all-too-familiar eyes shining out from the dark hood; he was caught frozen in their depths. He could not react in time as the man's hand came whipping about, shooting a silver-streaking missile straight for him. He could not dodge out of the way fast enough, and so he watched in horror as a pearl-bladed dagger buried itself up to the hilt directly in the eye of the Millennium Puzzle.

There was a blinding flash of black light, and a searing fire erupted in his heart. He could not scream because of the pain, he felt as though his very soul was being torn in half. He jerked and spasmed violently, collapsing to the ground as every nerve ending in his body seemed to explode in a surge of white hot agony. His mind remained lucid and clear as a bell, acutely registering every throbbing beat of his erratic heart. The welcoming blackness of oblivion did not come to him; he remained conscious despite the agony. He clutched at his heart until his knuckles were white, but he could not find the strength to grasp for the Puzzle, where the pain emanated from.

All he could do was watch in utter horror as the man came to stand over his twitching form. He reached up and pulled back the cowl of his cloak, sneering at poor Yugi's absolutely mortified expression. A scream echoed in the distance.

XxxxxxxxX

Yami was not paying much attention to where he was going as he walked along, gazing at the card with an unfathomable expression on his handsome face. Something about the card seemed to rub him the wrong way, although he could not for the life of him figure out what it was that disturbed him so. Something about the wounded man's expression, something in his eyes perhaps, seemed to be drawing him in. He shook his head again, silently hoping that the card would not affect Yugi in the same way. Some gift it would be if it gave the poor child nightmares.

Yami did glance up every now and again, keeping an eye out for the gang. But as time passed and he still had not found them, he gradually began making his way back over to where he had left Yugi.

Again and again the card intruded on his thoughts, unwilling to be forgotten. He stared at it for a long while, deciding. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he was not so sure. He almost felt like he should tear the card up and toss it aside, trade it for a much more appealing gift. He even went so far as to turn the card sideways and place his hands as if he was going to rip it. But he stopped, doubts casting their poisonous touch and making him hesitate. With slow, uncertain movements, he placed the card in his jacket pocket, which hung loose around his shoulders. Perhaps he was just reading too much into this, making something out of nothing. He would give Yugi the card, and if Yugi deemed it worthy then he would keep it.

He pushed past a row of carts and entered the clearing. "Yugi, I-" Then he stopped. Yugi was not there.

Yami ran over to the table, scanning the toys as his heart began to beat faster with a rush of fear. They were all there... it was possible that Yugi had only left them for a moment, maybe he'd gone to use the washroom. _But,_ Yami's rather pessimistic side chimed in. _What if something happened to him?_

He began pacing back and forth, concentrating. He immediately tried calling to Yugi through their mind link, but the link was closed off for some reason. Worried, now having some fact to back up his automatic doubts, he began debating with himself whether or not to go and search for his missing friend, or wait here and hope he returned unharmed.

Yami growled in frustration. It was so _infuriating_ to not have any control over the events around you. Whoever was responsible for taking his best friend away from him was going to pay... dearly.

He stopped pacing suddenly, a strange, sick sort of feeling washing over him. It was the same feeling that he had experienced gazing at the card, only more so: his head spun and salt and pepper spots swam before his eyes. He stumbled over to the table, resting one hand on the solid wood for support and holding his throbbing head in the other. He felt like he was going to be sick, although that would have been impossible without a stomach to empty in the first place. And then, without any warning whatsoever, his heart shuddered as though he had been electrocuted. Fire arced through his veins, so intense that he raised his head to the sky and screamed in pain. He collapsed to one knee, his back arched as though claws were tearing at him, and his twisted face was raised to the heavens. His purple eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell; he saw the table rushing up to meet him, but just as he braced for impact sweet darkness took him.

XxxxxxxX

Joey stopped mid-stride, almost causing Tristan to slam into him from behind. "Whoa..." He mumbled, putting an arm across his stomach and wincing in pain. "I don't feel so good. Do you guys feel that?"

Tea threw her hands up incredulously. "Well let's see. _I _didn't just eat four corn dogs at once because someone dared me to. _I_ didn't decide to ride on 'Chaos Melody' immediately after said consumption. And _I_ certainly didn't just finish wolfing down a jumbo bag of popcorn and a Pepsi so no, I'd have to say I didn't feel that." She scolded, her hands on her hips in an almost motherly fashion.

"Hold on Tea..." Tristan murmured, suddenly grimacing himself. "I feel it too."

"Well, there is a trash can right over there." She pointed, her voice softening. Despite the fact that she knew they had brought it upon themselves, she didn't wish a stomachache on anyone. Then all of a sudden she realized what the others were talking about. Her hand trembled as a cold wave blew through her, and her eyes widened in shock.

They all locked gazes at the same time, and a wordless understanding passed between them. When the scream reached their ears they all took off in unison, twisting and weaving through the crowd with a single-minded intensity. Somehow they knew that that call had been for their ears alone, and they responded to the cry as fast as their legs would carry them.

Tristan skidded to a stop, his hazel eyes widening in horror at what he saw before him. Yugi lay face down in the dirt, with random stuffed animals dotting the ground around his unconscious form.

"Yugi!" Joey yelled, pushing past Tristan and dropping to his knees beside his best friend. He gently rolled his limp body over, wiping the grime from his face and bending low over him.

"He's breathing." He said with no small amount of relief. Tea let out the breath she had been holding and dropped to her knees too, taking his pulse.

"His heart is beating like a drum." She murmured.

"Whatever it was must have scared him good, he doesn't seem to be injured on the outside." Tristan observed, shaking his shoulder gently. "C'mon Yug, wake up."

His eyelids stirred at the name. He sat up and he slowly reoriented himself to the world around him. Blurry eyes took in the scene, but he could not seem to focus on any one thing. Tea helped him sit up, and at her touch he started slightly, as if not expecting it.

"He's really out of it." Joey said softly. "Give him some air." He snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Earth to Yugi, anybody home?"

Yami jerked as the words registered. They could see him! But, he was not in control of Yugi's body, he didn't even know where Yugi was...

He gasped and grabbed at his heart in horror. He could not feel Yugi at all. It was as if he was gone from his heart, and when he looked he saw with a numb kind of fascination that he was not wearing the Puzzle.

His taxed and over-tired mind could not process all of these confusing events at once. Somehow, he was in control of Yugi's body... without Yugi. The Puzzle was gone, Yugi was missing, and people could actually see him!

"Easy there pal." Tristan attempted to soothe him, seeing Yami's obviously shocked and almost horrified expression. "What happened to you?"

Yami opened his mouth to explain, _I'm not Yugi. This isn't Yugi! _but the words would not respond to his commands. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard, trying to speak, but before he could utter a single sound a heart-broken cry tore through the night.

Everyone's heads whipped around, gazing intently at the alleyway where the sound had come from.

"Sounds like someone else is in trouble." Tristan said quietly, shaking his head. "There must be some psychopath out on the streets tonight."

"Yugi, NO!" Yami cried, springing to his feet and blasting into the darkness without a moment's hesitation.

The others stared after him, wide-eyed with disbelief.

"What in the-" Joey began, completely bewildered. "Wasn't that... I mean, it had to be... Wasn't he?"

"I don't think he was." Tristan said, his eyes wide. Tea bent to the earth and picked something up, wiping the mud off of it with the edge of her shirt. "Guys, I have a bad feeling about this. Look what he was holding." She said, displaying the trap card.

"Betrayal'." Joey breathed.

_**A/N: If nothing makes sense, please tell me, because there's more written, but I think I copied and pasted it wrong. Also, please review, and again I'm really grateful for all of the favourites and to those of you who did review.**_


	3. Doppleganger?

**Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the long update! I just got back from vacation, where I was uploading the last few chapters. I just have one question: Why isn't anyone reviewing? I've had a lot of favorites and alerts, but not so many reviews. Please, please, PLEASE, review! I'll even accept flames! Oh yeah, I have one more question. Does everyone know what's happening so far? Feel free to talk to me and ask me questions, I won't bite! Promise! **

_No, no, NO! _The word repeated itself over and over again like some sort of chant. If he could just hold on to it; keep telling himself that everything was going to be okay, then the reality of this desperate situation could not fully settle and steal his resolve. He ran as fast as he could, but with a tired and unfamiliar body weighing him down he had to slow his pace or risk injuring himself.

_I do not even know if this is Yugi's body. _He thought. _I cannot afford to risk hurting myself if it is._

He made himself pause and take a few deep breaths of air, though both his mind and his heart were screaming at him to continue. _Curse this mortal shell! _He swore to himself. _I fear it will not get me to Yugi fast enough..._

Yami again tried calling out to him through the link in their minds, but this time, when he reached for their connection he could not even find it. Startled, he frantically dug around in his thoughts, mentally rooting through every little corner he could find. But it was gone. There was not even a gap, or a hole that signaled where it once had rested, it was just... gone.

As soon as that thought registered his heart gave a funny little jerk. The shadows in the alley seemed to grow darker, more sinister; breathing with a new life in the sudden absence of he who could banish the darkness with only a smile. Yami ran in fear, fear for himself, fear of the shadows, fear for Yugi's well being. Clouds gathered overhead, rumbling with the distant echo of thunder. He ran harder, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach.

He knew he was getting close, the walls were covered in graffiti and muck, and a heavy stench permeated the air. He rushed around the final corner, and felt his whole world come crashing down around him.

Yugi was lying on the ground in a heap, clutching at something Yami could not see. He was curled halfway into a little ball, trying to escape whatever torments had been bestowed upon him.

The rest of the world faded into the background of his mind as Yami looked at him. Numb, he put one foot in front of the other and walked to Yugi, praying with every shaking step that this nightmare would shatter and he would awaken in Yugi's room, in the Millennium Puzzle, and none of this would have happened.

But fate was not so kind. He dropped to his knees in front of Yugi's weak and seemingly lifeless form, fighting back tears of sorrow and anger. He reached out with shaking fingers to Yugi's face, but he could not bear to close the last little gap and prove the nightmare was real when he felt only cold skin and no life beneath his fingertips.

But Yugi sensed his presence, and found the courage to open his eyes the tiniest sliver.

"Yami? You're okay!" He breathed, and somehow, miraculously, his tone was that of a happy sigh, the kind a small child makes when everything is right with the world again. Yami's lower lip trembled, but he fought hard to be strong. Yugi needed his protector to be courageous for him in this dire time.

"Oh, Yugi..." He moaned softly, gathering him up in his strong arms. He sat Yugi on his lap and buried his face in Yugi's chest. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, I should never have left you..." He said softly, his voice muffled and defeated.

"No..." Yugi murmured, his voice faint. "No Yami, it... it wasn't your fault." He seemed about to say more, but he stopped and gave a low cough, his whole body shaking with pain. Yami immediately placed one finger on Yugi's pale lips; he reached out and gently wiped the dirt and debris off of Yugi's face with a soft stroke. Yugi coughed again, his voice trembling. An ice cold tendril of shadow crept into his normally vibrant voice, threatening every second to take him. But he pressed on, needing to say more, something important, if only he could find the strength.

"Yami, it's not... you can't blame yourself." His voice sounded far too faint, and Yami whispered to him.

"Hush little one, save your breath, you need to rest. I need to get you to the hospital. Everything is going to be all right, I promise you." His tone offered no compromise. Yugi was _not _going to die like this, not in this foul place.

Yugi looked up at him sadly, but with a fragile smile still on his innocent face. "You know it's too late for me. At least... at least I got to see you again... one last time." His breathing became ragged and shallow, and Yami could feel his heartbeat slowing beneath his hands.

"No! Please Yugi, hold on! You can't leave me... Please."

Yugi raised a shaking hand to Yami's face, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

"Yami... I... I lo..." But his amethyst eyes closed again, and the last of his heartfelt proclamation flitted from his lips to disappear on the wind, softer than a whisper. His whole body went limp, his little hand slowly slipped from Yami's face to settle across his stomach, and Yami knew deep in his heart that his pure-hearted and carefree friend was gone.

His tears mixed with the rain that began falling; he held Yugi close as the last wisps of heat, of life, fled from his body until he was as cold as the stone around them.

"Why?" He whispered. "Why?"

He felt cold, so very cold. Half of his soul had died at Yugi's last breath, and even now he could feel the other half freezing over. His lament pulsed through him, shaking him to his core. Still cradling Yugi in his arms he rose, shouting to the stars.

"It was not supposed to end like this!" He cried, shooting his rage at the distant points of light as if they were responsible. "Why did you take him away from me? It should have been ME, not him! It's not fair!" He gasped and sobbed heavily, feeling as though his heart was being ripped from his chest. His tears fell freely from his skin but he did not care, he did not have the strength to stop them anyway. The stars continued to twinkle indifferently, no more than celestial observers.

He lowered his head in defeat, staring at the youth that was limp in his arms. The moonlight bathed his face with silver halo of light, making him seem peacefully at rest. Yami could almost believe he was sleeping, if he was not lying so still and quiet. Then suddenly, Yami caught a flash of something shining under Yugi's hands. He lowered him back to the ground gently, moving his arms to see what he was clutching at.

Yugi held a dagger in a vice-like grip, and Yami's eyes widened in shock when he saw that the blade was embedded deep in the Millennium Puzzle. So that's what happened. Somehow, whoever had done this had known what the Puzzle was, and had targeted Yugi specifically.

Once he realized that there was a purpose to all of this; that Yugi had suffered for a _reason_, something deep within Yami finally snapped. An intense burst of hatred and uncontrollable rage coursed through him, burning him from the inside out. It moved like magma, pulsing through his veins like liquid fire, drying his tears. Yami felt himself changing as he stood there, lost in the grip of this terrible realization. All of his memories with Yugi, all of the good times they had shared; the fire infused them with hatred until his whole mind was coated with a red haze with one word stamped upon it: Revenge.

He grabbed the dagger and unceremoniously ripped from his friend's body. No, not just a friend, not only a vessel. Yugi was his brother, his soul companion, the light to counterbalance the darkness within himself. Without Yugi, he knew that soon enough the darkness would consume him, but he was determined to take Yugi's killer down to the abyss with him.

He jammed the knife into his belt and gently reached down and picked Yugi up again. With smooth, sure-footed steps and an expressionless face he moved back into the alleyway, not knowing what he was going to say to Joey and the others, and not caring much anyways.

The moon watched with otherworldly sadness as Yami walked away, his movements as cold and as graceful as an angel of Death.

**A/N: So... I killed Yugi. I'm sorry! Well, I am and I'm not... Anyways, PLEASE review! If you are even reading this, I really, really, really want to hear your thoughts! Tell me if I missed any spelling errors, you don't understand what's going on, any questions you might have, any thoughts so far about the story, my writing technique, what you're eating for supper... anything! Just talk to me! I'm still kind of new here, so PLEASE review!**


	4. Inbalance

_**Author's Note: I'm sorry for the superly long update. Really.**_

Crowds parted before him like water before the prow of a ship. People couldn't seem to be able to get out of his way fast enough, scrambling to the sides of his path and trembling in fear of the death that blazed in this archangel's eyes. Yami took no notice of them, his goal was singular and he moved toward it without regard to anyone else. He found them standing before the entryway to the park, conversing with Kaiba in hushed tones.

Obviously they were trying to get him to increase the security around the area, but Kaiba was shaking his head in denial, the security was fine. Yami felt none of his usual anger rise up when he saw his arch-nemesis, he felt nothing at all. He simply continued forward to approach them.

Joey raised his fist in front of Kaiba's face, making an angry retort, and pointed in the direction Yami had come from. His harsh words reached his ears a moment later.

"This is serious! There is someone in the park Kaiba, and we think he might be after Yugi!" Joey stared at him, trying to intimidate him. But as Kaiba stood a full head taller than all of them, the tactic did not work too well.

He smirked, and took a sip of his glass. "Well then he shouldn't have-" Kaiba began, but the rest of his sentence was lost as he happened to look over their heads to see the dark figure approaching them.

The others whirled around at his dumbfounded expression, and time seemed to freeze again. Kaiba's glass slipped through his fingers to shatter on the hard ground, but no one took notice. They were all staring at Yami, and more specifically, the figure he cradled in his arms with infinite tenderness.

He met their stunned eyes alternately, ending with Kaiba. For the span of a heartbeat no one said a word, and then time returned to normal and everyone reacted at once. Tea screamed and stepped back, unable to process what was going on. Tristan moved not at all, he just stared at Yugi with an unreadable expression on his face and tears in his eyes. His jaw was set in a hard line.

Only Joey found the courage to move forward, locking his brown eyes with Yami's. A wordless question passed between them. Yami nodded solemnly, and at Joey's heart-broken and torn expression, a touch of his old self came back to him. He found the strength to whisper, in a voice that threatened to break any second.

"I'm sorry Joey, I was too late. Yugi is gone."

A thousand emotions spun across his face at once. Anger, sorrow, denial, rage, guilt, love, despair, all of these and more made Joey's eyes water with tears. He held out his hand and touched Yugi's pale face, choking back a sob when he felt how cold he was. Yami sympathized completely, and for a moment, he was able to push away the growing darkness and suffer with his friend.

The absence of his motivation made him feel weak, vulnerable, but he willingly paid the price to share one last humanly emotional moment with all of his friends. Eventually the others made their way over, tears flowing down their faces and mixing still with the steady drizzle. Only Kaiba stayed back, unable to accept that what he saw was real, and those 'fairy-tales' people had been giving him for years were actually true.

Joey wordlessly held out his arms, and Yami handed Yugi over without a moment's hesitation. Joey shared nearly as strong a bond with Yugi as Yami did, and so he knew how much this must hurt. Joey held him close and Tea and Tristan put their arms around him too, sobbing together and lamenting their loss. Yami stood just behind them, shaking with the effort of containing his poisonous feelings.

Then, Kaiba finally lost it. "Pull yourselves together! This is obviously some sort of trick! He's using some kind of doll or a robot to fool you all, watch!" And with that, he started toward Joey threateningly, intending to grab Yugi and prove that this was all fake. He made it about half a step before Yami lost control again.

In a single fluid movement, Yami snapped the dagger out and whipped it forward, pointing it toward Kaiba. He froze, looking at Yami in amazement.

"Take another step Kaiba and you will pay the price." Yami said softly, shaking hard. An aura of darkness enveloped his form subtly, and Kaiba felt himself shuddering at the sheer hatred burning in Yami's eyes. He retreated with a hard expression.

Yami could feel his soul freezing over again, and he coolly placed the knife back in his belt. His voice was flat and expressionless as he moved back to Joey.

"I'm taking him home."

Grandpa was lounging on the couch watching T.V, when he heard the soft chime of the door's bell clinging. _About time those youngsters got back._ He grumbled to himself.

"Yugi?" He called. "What took you so long?" He turned to the open doorway to see a man cloaked in shadows stretching his hand out toward him. Red-violet eyes stared at him, and suddenly he felt his own eyes grow tired and heavy. Seconds later he dropped to the couch, snoring loudly, and Yami slipped upstairs.

Yami lay Yugi down on his bed and tucked the covers up to his chin. Then he paused, fighting again to hold back the tears that needed to be cried.

He felt like he had been violently thrust into a conflict which could have no winner. Yugi: his best friend, his soul companion, his _brother_... was gone. Taken from him with one thrust of a cold blade. And worse, there was some sort of ulterior motive buried behind this series of events that most would pass off as no more than a freakish coincidence. Somehow there was a purpose to all of this, for whoever stuck the fatal blow must have been responsible for the fact that Yami had gained a body to call his own as well. Most likely trying to weaken him, for other people had tried and failed to stop the Pharaoh by targeting his friends before. But this was different, Yugi's loss hurt him in ways that could never be fully explained... or healed.

They were two halves of the same coin. Light and shadow, Yami and Hikari. Without one, the other would be incomplete. Yami knew that without Yugi, those dark powers that had been buried within him for so long would seek to rise up and destroy him. Without Yugi's light to balance his buried evil, Yami feared most of all that he would become a black and twisted shell of his former self, and he would bring more harm to those close to him.

That line of thinking brought Marik to his mind abruptly. Marik had struggled against a darker side for a long while, but had eventually gotten rid of it by fighting as hard as he could. But Marik was not alone then, and despite the fact that Yami was surrounded by friends that loved him just as much as they loved Yugi, Yami had never felt so alone in his entire life. It was as though there was a gaping hole in his heart that was slowly consuming him, piece by painful piece.

He stood shaking at the foot of the bed, trying so hard to cry; to let loose the sadness within him and perhaps begin the long process of healing. But he could not find the strength, and his trembling lips thinned into a hard and grim line. He bottled away his emotions, used them to fuel the newfound goal he held within himself. He needed to find Yugi's killer, needed to resolve this hatred that burned within him. And he figured that he knew exactly where to begin looking.

He opened the window to expose the night sky, and slipped out onto the roof agilely. The rain had stopped for now, leaving everything cold and fresh, which Yami found ironically fitting, considering the situation.

Leaping down the building with speed and grace, he disappeared into the night to begin his quest.

_**A/N: And now it begins!**_


	5. Keeper of Death

_**Author's Note: Okay, so I know I could have updated a really long time ago, but the horrible fever of procrastination kicked in and left me choking. So, I will just say I'm sorry! Also, I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer, not just one scene at a time. But, if you prefer shorter chapters, let me know. Personally, I like the long ones. Well, enough of my drabbling. On with the quest for revenge!**_

Though the lights of Kaiba Land still twinkled with the same jovial cheer, the atmosphere of the festival had completely changed. The feeling of happiness, the sound of the children laughing and playing, all of this passed right through him. Every time he looked at one of the children, the way they bubbled with energy and zest for life, he was painfully reminded of the way Yugi could have lit up the whole room just by smiling. The reality hit him like a slap in the face every time his shadowed eyes flicked to meet the gaze of the innocent kids. And such innocence it was! They still looked to the future with faith, with the steady hope that everything would turn out alright. They were heedless of the many pains that awaited them; the only things they could only see through their rose covered glasses were bright and cheery. But Yami was slowly coming to understand that the world was a heartless place. A place where the innocent suffered at the hands of the guilty, where the light of the sun cannot penetrate the most severe of shadows.

Thus he kept telling himself, and thus he began to believe. The fragments of his broken heart were reflecting the light of life away from his soul, and where once there flowed a wellspring of pride and contentment, there now lurked a great and forbidden darkness. Love had flown from his heart, shattering what once had been a peaceful dream and leaving him in the cold, bitter, and empty reality of life. And it was changing him, he could feel it. The changes came slowly, but they were steady, moving through his core and molding him into a passionless and cold-blooded shadow of his former self.

Yami wanted, _needed_, to find the man that had taken Yugi away from him, and return the favor with vengeance. An eye for an eye. The only problem was, though he did his best to hide it, he knew that deep down he was not doing this only for Yugi. He wanted revenge, he wanted the satisfaction of making someone suffer as he had suffered, and to show them how it felt. Deep in the ruins of his heart he knew that the feeling was wrong, and that he should not desire revenge. But he had not the courage to look inside himself and discover a way to let go of the pain and forgive his adversary. He was afraid, scared that if he tried to let go of his anger and hatred then he would finally fully realize that Yugi was gone, and he did not know what such a realization would do to him. And so he locked away his feelings; refused to even touch them, for he was afraid that the pain of trying to mend this broken heart might be enough to kill him anyway.

He was brought out of his dark, internal, brooding suddenly when he realized that he was at the entrance to Kaiba Land. And, speak of the devil, Kaiba himself stood at the gates, covertly whispering with two uniformed men. Police officers.

Yami slipped closer discreetly to discern what they were saying.

Kaiba rubbed the bridge between his nose to stave off the impending headache as he tried to explain himself for the umpteenth time.

"Listen to me. I don't know where you got your information from, but Yugi Moto is not dead. You people see someone walk away with a doll that looks just like him and everybody is freaking out. What are we, three years old? Come on, it's obviously just some clever trick that those teenagers pulled in an effort to fool everybody. Am I the only one not buying this?"

"Sir, we understand you may not believe that this strange event is worth investigating but unfortunately we still need to do our jobs." One of the officers intoned. "If you would please grant us permission to close down the park until we have sufficient proof..."

"No." Kaiba refused point blank. "That would cause panic among the people and severely tarnish the Kaiba Corp. name. I cannot allow you to go waltzing along in there just so you can prove what I've been trying to tell you the whole time: he's not dead."

The other officer bristled and looked ready to start laying down the law, but then Yami materialized out of the darkness. Kaiba pointed an accusing finger at him and raised his voice angrily.

"There see? He's right in front of your eyes!"

Yami walked calmly up to both of the policemen and looked the burly one square in the face. "Go back to your jobs. This case has been resolved."

At once the man snapped to attention and gave a stiff nod of his head before he headed down the street. The younger officer looked at his superior confusedly, then at Yami, before nodding nervously and departing after his companion.

Yami turned to Kaiba, fire flashing in his eyes. "Yugi is not dead." He said, very slowly and very clearly. Kaiba seemed unsure how to take that statement.

"Well obviously-" He began, intending to give one of his customary flippant remarks concerning the nature of two souls in one body and the impossibility thereof. He meant to go on and say that Yugi should stop living in the past and look to the future. A thousand arguments for those four simple words came readily to his lips, but there they halted, stopped as surely as if they had hit a wall.

Yami's whole presence seemed to swell, growing with a terrible, nameless power, and for the first time in his life Kaiba felt like Yami was towering over him.

"I don't care what you think." Yami said softly, glaring at him. "I don't care if none of this gets through to you, but know this." He raised one finger and pointed it straight at Kaiba's heart.

"Yugi has done nothing but help you since the day you met. It was he that stopped the duel between us atop the castle battlement, and it was he that rescued both you and your brother's souls from Pegasus. It was Yugi that saved you from the clutches of your cohorts the 'Big Five', and it was Yugi who has held faith in all of your ventures. It was Yugi... not me." His violet eyes were flashing dangerously, and for a moment, Kaiba could almost believe that his words were true, and that this person standing before him was not Yugi Moto. Rather, he was someone different, and ultimately someone more dangerous than the little duelist.

"Understand me now Kaiba, when I say that I will not attempt to persuade you any longer. Yugi knew that by denying your ancient past you were destroying your future. He tried to help you, tried to save you from a life of torment again and again. Neither of us wanted to see you fall, for we both considered you a friend."

Kaiba's face remained stone cold, but he shifted slightly at the words. Yami continued.

"Yugi and I are separate from one another. Whether you believe me or not, I'm telling you that it is true. And I will also tell you this: one day, when you look around and realize that no one is standing beside you, when you see just how far you've closed in on yourself and pushed others away, you're going to wish that you had taken his offer of friendship more seriously. Despite all of our differences, I think that you deserve to know that that offer will stand, no matter what. Whether by Yugi's hand or by mine own."

Here Yami's voice softened a touch, and a small hint of compassion entered his stoic voice.

"I only hope for your sake that you will see the light sooner rather than later, for I will not push you farther along the road if you truly believe that it's against your own interpretation of destiny. I will let you choose."

Kaiba blinked a few times, his mind trying to process what had just been said. Yami had just openly stated what Kaiba had longed to hear for so many long years: that he was going to allow Kaiba to choose his own path, and not try to persuade him either way. He had wanted this since the very beginning, so why, then, did he suddenly feel so empty? Isn't this what he wanted?

It was all so sudden, he couldn't think straight. He did not notice Yami sliding back into the shadows until it was too late, and by then he was long gone. He lowered his head and sighed, long and hard. He may not fully agree with Yami, but the man had certainly given him a lot to think about.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

The mist seemed to appear out of nowhere, crawling over the gravestones like some sort of living creature; it swirled around his ankles like tentacles of ice as he glided over the cobblestone path. Yami was on the outskirts of the city: in an old and abandoned graveyard that had sickly weeds twining around the tombstones. The aura of horror that permeated this forbidden place would have made the most hardy of men shudder, but Yami paid it no mind. Fear could not take place within his rapidly hardening heart, the only emotion that pulsed through him now was determination, for he found that it kept some of the darkness at bay without making him fully lose himself. A lonely howl echoed through the night, ringing with a chilling terror.

He knew well the dangers that were associated with a place such as this, for as the keeper of the Millennium Puzzle he had grown sensitive to the patterns of darkness in the world, and so he could pick up on when he drew near to their sources. He did so now, honing in on where it was that he expected to find the answers to this most puzzling of questions.

As he walked across the bed of death, a cold breeze whistled through the barren trees, bringing with it the heavy stench of rot and decay. He paused before the very center of the intersecting paths, in front of a large and rather eerie looking angel statue. He knew this to be the correct place, for the Puzzle was pulling at him strongly. He had taken it from Yugi in order to be able to properly seek out the man he needed to see tonight.

Even that thought alone almost proved to be too much for him, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut in order to hold back the flood of emotions that assaulted him. His eyes prickled painfully at the corners but he refused to cry. He raised his voice powerfully, not a tremor to be heard.

"Awaken, Keeper of Death."

The statue blinked and gave a huge shudder, shaking from head to foot. A dark blotch grew on the angel's stomach, spreading out from the tips of his wings to the bottom of his base. Then, a man stepped out from the hole with regal grace, indifferently dusting himself off before he looked up.

"Who is it that calls beyond the veil?" He said softly, his voice carrying the depth of one who has seen too much of this world. As Yami stared unflinchingly into his ageless face, the black eyes widened.

"Well well. The man who cheated death for over five-thousand years." He murmured wryly.

Yami gave a small nod of his head. "Argeth. It has been far too long."

"Indeed it has Yami. I wondered for a time if you had forgotten about me."

Argeth was what many people from this time would call the 'Grim Reaper'. But he lived separate from the many horrible tales that men had developed over the years, for he served neither good nor evil. Argeth simply made sure that when someone's time was up, they were escorted safely to the afterlife. He knew the names and lifespan of everyone that has ever lived, and anyone that ever will, and he held one of the keys to the soul that would unlock it from it's mortal coil.

"What brings you to my humble abode so late in the night?" Argeth asked, curiosity ringing in his voice.

"I need your help." He said softly, his violet eyes hard. "Yugi's final breath was uttered too early, and I mean to avenge that."

Argeth studied Yami incredulously for a moment, before he put his head down and blew out a long sigh. "Ah Yami, my old friend..." He murmured, and Yami smirked. Friends never seemed to be the right word to describe their relationship. Argeth was fascinated by the fact that Yami had managed to keep his spirit alive in a little puzzle for five thousand years; he mostly just considered Yami a unique case in a boring job. As for Yami himself, well, he only knew Argeth because one does not simply cheat the ruler of death and not get to meet him in exchange.

Argeth sighed again. "You are quite right when you say that he was taken too soon. That boy's destiny has yet to be fulfilled. As with yours, his adventure is not yet complete." He paused for a moment, thinking.

"Do you know who killed him?" He asked a second later. Yami shook his head.

"No. That is what I am here to find out. You are the keeper of Death, don't you know? Can't you tell me?"

Argeth blinked, and his eyes suddenly became milk-white. "I will see what I can do."

He pulled a small crystal sphere out of his pocket and stared into it's clear depths, mumbling a few words under his breath. A million tiny pinpricks of light suddenly brightened within the crystal, glowing with the energy of lost souls. Argeth gazed at them expertly, searching for the one he wanted.

He uttered another command word and dropped the crystal; it began to spin and float in midair. Faster and faster it spun, glowing brighter and brighter until it's radiance rivaled that of the moon.

"Yugi Moto." He breathed, his voice infused with a thousand separate tones: the voice of Time itself.

A single beam of white light shot out from the orb like a lightning bolt, morphing into a solid pillar when it struck the ground. After a second a small figure began to materialize out of the light, floating slowly around in a circle. It was Yugi.

He seemed to be asleep, for his head was lolling side to side as he turned, and his eyes were shut. But his face was covered with lines of worry and fear, belying the peaceful calm one expects on the faces of the sleeping.

"Yugi." Argeth called softly, but he did not respond. Argeth, wearing a perplexed expression, called again, louder. "Yugi Moto."

Just then his eyes snapped open, and he stared directly at Yami. But that was not Yugi's gaze, for it was filled with contempt and disdain. Yugi gave a wicked grin, displaying long, pointed fangs.

"You'll never find him Pharaoh. Your partner belongs to me now!" Yugi roared, in a voice that was not his own. It was twisted and warped into a dark mockery of the gentle quality that was normally within it. His mouth opened wide; a chilling cold laugh burst forth that did not belong in Yugi's soft and sweet voice, a laugh that made Yami shudder uncontrollably. The harsh sound echoed for the space of many moments, before it was cut off abruptly and Yugi disappeared. Argeth again held the crystal in his hand, but all the lights had gone out.

"What in the name of Ra was that?" Yami breathed, still shaken.

Argeth's face was hard, a look of supreme displeasure etched into his features. He shook his head angrily.

"This goes beyond any normal expectations. Yugi's death was no natural occurrence, and by that I mean it was not the work of mortal man. Someone very powerful must be behind all of this, for I could not get any information whatsoever concerning the whereabouts or identity of the killer. I cannot for the life of me think of who would have a reason for doing this, for the gods have been quiet for so long I thought they had all settled their differences."

"Not one of the gods then." Yami reasoned. "Someone new, perhaps from another world entirely. It would not be the first time this has happened."

"Whoever it is, they are tampering with a very delicate balance." Argeth blew a heavy sigh and stared off into space. "Life and Death must co-exist in harmony, or else the great destroyer, Chaos, will erupt and consume everything in its path. There is a certain ritual that needs to be kept, or else everything is thrown off." He snarled suddenly and pounded his fist into his open palm. "I am the ruler of Death. It is my job to ensure that my half of the balance is kept in check. It's power-crazy humans like this that make my job so immensely difficult." He drew out that last word slowly, speaking each syllable as though it was it's own separate word. As he spoke his face grew shadowed and dark, and his eyes suddenly seemed to get wilder. For a moment, Yami felt himself grow cold, as though his life force was being leeched away. But Argeth quickly regained control, and calmed himself.

"If you are willing, I can allow you to cross over to their side for just a moment. Hopefully if we can have you on the inside for a second, it will lend some answers to this strange predicament."

Yami started slightly. "You can do that? Won't the balance be threatened more?"

Argeth smiled a cold and wicked smile. "Sometimes you have to break a few rules to catch the cheater." He said cryptically, and reached out one pale hand. Yami grasped at it firmly, and Argeth began chanting more words of power under his breath. He held up his other hand and lifted his index finger, a coldly glowing spark flaring to life on its tip. Without warning, he placed his finger at the base of Yami's neck, and instantly a numbing cold spread through his entire body. A surge of energy pulsed through their connected hands, making Yami shake softly for a moment as he adjusted to the change.

"You will only have a moment." He explained as his hand slid out of Yami's grasp. "Then the spell will wear off and you will be brought back here. You will have until then to find out as much as you can about what's going on."

As soon as they separated, a grey pallor seemed to settle over everything. Shapes and shadows grew fuzzy and undefined, colors blending into the same monotonous hue. Yami shook himself as he settled, for his whole body felt numb even though it was functioning just fine.

Swirling clouds of black and grey blotted the whole horizon, the only discernible features of the landscape were those immediately in front of him. He cast his gaze about, but there was nothing here.

"Yugi?" He called out, and his voice sounded sluggish and dull as soon as it left his lips. He started to move forward, and felt like he was wading through mud, the ground shifted and wobbled under his feet as he walked. "Yugi, are you here?"

The silence pressed in on him uncomfortably, making him uneasy. There was nothing here, just the cold and bleak air and plain land. He was just about to give up the search when that same cold laugh echoed through the dark, shattering the eerie silence.

A ripple of energy pulsed through him like a wave, jarring him to his center. Suddenly, a swirling black cloud began to form in the midst of this grey place, crackling with bright lines of power as the laughter grew ever louder. Then the cloud erupted, spewing forth ice cold shadows.

Yami suddenly felt himself grow warmer, and knew that the spell was at it's end. Colors burst back into his vision, and he staggered as his mind suddenly registered sound and light again all at once. When he reoriented himself he saw Argeth standing open-mouthed, gaping at the column of murky black smoke with alarm.

"What have you done?" Argeth yelled over the noise. Yami just shook his head. They both knew what happened, Yami had found the source of this troubling event. Or rather, the trouble had found him.

Two dots of crimson blinked to life in the heart of the whirlwind as it faded, revealing a man cloaked in black. As soon as their eyes met Yami instantly knew that this was Yugi's killer.

"Hello, my Pharaoh." The man said mockingly, and something in his voice inexplicably made Yami grow cold. "It has been such a very long time." The man glared at him for a moment, as if he were searching for something within Yami's eyes. Yami could see the recognition burning in those ruby depths, but he could not see the man's face in return. When he saw that Yami obviously had no idea who he was, he smirked and turned away to sneer at Argeth.

"I should have known that not even Death could stand up to me. Now I will know better for next time."

Argeth growled low in his throat, a sound that deepened steadily until it no longer even seemed remotely human. He snarled and gnashed his teeth in rage, and soon his flesh began contorting weirdly. His ivory skin darkened impossibly, while his body thickened and grew. Soon he was on all fours, spikes erupting along his spine; a whip-like tail thrashing behind him. When the transformation was complete he raised his head and howled; the sound cut through the night like a scythe.

Argeth lunged at the man who threatened the balance between Life and Death, his huge jaws snapping for his face. But he hit some sort of barrier before his teeth could find purchase, and he jerked to a halt as dark waves of electricity arced along his length. Then the man raised his hand slightly, and sent the six hundred pound wolf flying through the air to land in a crumpled heap.

Yami sprang to action while the man's back was turned, reaching for the knife that rested on his hip. But the man spun around and lunged before he could draw it, clamping his hand firmly around Yami's wrist and stopping him before the dagger was out of its sheath. Amethyst locked with ruby, their gemstone-like eyes shining with equal intensity; only inches apart.

"Now now," He murmured, taking a step forward to further secure his grip. "Let's be reasonable. I'm sure we can find a way to make this deal like mature adults, wouldn't you agree?"

As soon as the words left his lips an icy pain spread from his touch, shooting up Yami's arm quickly and paralyzing it. The man teasingly traced his hand along, the poisonous effect crawling through Yami wherever he touched. Once he was securely immobile the man smiled.

"There, that's much better. Now then, to the business at hand." He reached into his robe and pulled out a small pendant that dangled on the end of a long gold chain. "I believe this is what you're after, is it not?"

Yami's eyes widened, fixated on the little spinning object. It was Yugi's name, spelled in gold, flowing, cursive. What did it mean? What happened to Yugi?

The man smirked evilly at the hatred written on Yami's face. He leaned closer to whisper low and cold in his ear.

"Good... Keep your anger burning _Pharaoh._ Keep the hatred flowing strong, I'll need you at your peak if this is going to work." He slipped the pendant back into his robe as he spoke. "Come and find me, seek me if you dare. But be swift, because I'm afraid that every second you delay will only mean more suffering for poor little Yugi." He cackled into Yami's face, his pointed fangs gleaming in the night. Then he wrapped his cloak around himself and vanished, the echo of his laugh drilling into his head painfully and releasing him from the paralyzation.

Yami collapsed to his knees for the second time that night, clutching at his erratically beating heart. When he found the strength, he rose from his knees; running over to Argeth's fallen form.

The wolf evaporated suddenly, and Argeth struggled to his knees in his human form again, wiping a thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Yami grabbed his elbow and hoisted him up; Argeth leaned heavily on him for support.

"What happened?" Yami asked, shocked. He didn't think that anything was powerful enough to knock down the ruler of Death. Argeth shook his head and growled again.

"Caught me by surprise. I should have known, after all these years of relative peace I've grown too soft for my own good." He pushed Yami away gently, standing on his own. His face looked aged and tired.

"Are you going to be alright?" Yami whispered, but Argeth waved his hand dismissively. "I will need time to rest, nothing more. Soon enough he will pay for trifling with me."

A thousand questions bounced in his thoughts, but the one he wanted to ask the most flew from his lips almost instantly.

"That dark creature held Yugi's name on a gold pendant. What does it mean?"

Argeth's gaze snapped up, shocked. "What? He held the lock? But that is impossible..."

"Lock?" Yami echoed, alarmed. "What lock?" Argeth shook his head in continued disbelief.

"The lock is the item given to a person when they cross over to the afterlife. It is what keeps their spirit bound to this world, so that they don't become lost out there in the wide universe. Normally it cannot be separated from a spirit, but if this man has somehow found a way..." He left the rest unspoken, but Yami knew the horrible implications behind the words. Yugi was trapped, unable to fully leave the mortal world. The word 'suffering' kept pounding away in his mind, the word that the dark man had used to describe him, and Yami clenched his teeth furiously.

As if he was reading Yami's thoughts, Argeth spoke again. "I can help you no longer, my role in this quest has ended. Now you must seek help from those who often help me: from the Trinity Sage. They are Yugi's only hope."

"They?" Yami echoed.

"The Trinity Sage are three very powerful magic users who have worked for eons to keep the peace between this world and others that spin around the cosmos. Usually they only need to intervene when we Guardians are unable to handle the situation ourselves for whatever reason. They have knowledge of ancient magics that can offer help when all other options have failed." He pointed into the dense growth of forest just beyond the cemetery. "They reside in a hidden dwelling in the heart of the forest called the Library of the Ancients. It cannot be found by those who don't have an honest desire and need to be there, and it is well protected from all manner of evils. It serves as a sanctuary for those struggling in the dark." He stopped and have a hoarse cough.

"Getting there will prove to be the most arduous part, for the forest will test the limits of your endurance and your sanity until you are sapped beyond belief. But if you truly wish to rescue your friend, then you must press onward."

Yami looked to the pitch black wall of foliage and steeled his nerves. "Thank you." He spoke to Argeth, who snorted.

"I'm not doing this for you. Balance needs to be restored, and because of this rather unfortunate accident I am unable to do it myself. Whether you succeed at rescuing the other half of your soul or not is up to you, but this strange man must be stopped, or else Chaos will break loose."

Yami nodded. In spite of his harsh words, Argeth's face softened the smallest bit. "Good luck." He whispered, vanishing into the night on the soft wings of a shadow.

_**A/N: Was it too long? Did I not see any mistakes? I use Wordpad, which doesn't have a spellcheck, so I don't know if there are mistakes or not. Please review! I would love to hear your thoughts!**_


	6. Trial of Forest

**Author's Note: On the name of good kind Ahkenamkahnen, I am so sorry! This chapter had already been written by my good friend Dreamer of Legends, but the shiny things distracted me SO many times. Let's just say, I will NOT take this long to update again!**

**This is my FAVOURITE chapter. DreamerofLegends wrote it, as you read above, so if you love it like I do, be sure to give her a shout! She's on my favourite author's list! I'm sure she would LOVE the appreciation! Also, please give me feedback! I really want to know what you think of this chapter!**

Kaiba paced back and forth in his living room, the glow of the fire casting his jagged shadow upon the wall. His head was full of many confusing questions that tormented him endlessly.

_Why would Yugi want me to believe there __are__ two of him? _he thought to himself. _Why, after all these years of pestering me to buy these ancient Egyptian fairy-tales, would he suddenly give me the option of choosing for myself? It doesn't make any sense... unless this is a trap. _

He stopped pacing suddenly as the logic clicked into place. _That must be it. Reverse psychology. By suddenly changing his tactics he's hoping to throw me off balance, and make it easier for that hocus-pocus nonsense to sink in. Well it's not going to work. Now that I'm on to him..._

Suddenly his train of thought was blown off of its tracks when a bright light erupted from behind his eyes. It was another vision, these things had been becoming increasingly more common since Battle City. He groaned in frustration and tried to hold off the sight with his force of will, but the vision was persistent and soon it overwhelmed him.

He was in a dark wood, and that one difference was significant in itself. For once there were no endless plains of sand, no towering pyramids nor crumbling ruins. For the first time, it seemed he was not being taken to the past, but rather to the future.

There was a long and straight path that stretched the entire length of the forest, coated in shadows and darkness. A man stepped onto the path hesitantly, as if he was unsure whether or not to continue. To Kaiba, the answer was obvious: stay off of the path. But the man hesitated again, and then started forward, glancing back and forth nervously.

_Doesn't he see the shadows?_ Kaiba asked no one in particular. _Can't he feel the evil?_

Obviously not, for he continued along with no inclination of turning his path. The darkness edged steadily closer. For some reason, this made Kaiba uneasy. He sensed that if the shadows were to reach the man, then something terrible would occur. With the completion of that thought, the light flashed again, and he found himself staring absently into the fire.

"Great." He mumbled. "Now I'm starting to sound like those geeks."

But for all his ramblings, there still remained a small grain of doubt implanted firmly in his mind. It grated against him constantly, like an itch that needed to be scratched. What if that vision would come true? What if something terrible _did_ happen?He could not know, and it frustrated him more than a little. He was bothered immensely by this strange event, but what bugged him the most was perhaps the fact that in order to get the answers he wanted, he knew he was going to have to ask more questions.

Which meant that he was going to have to accept the ugly truth, that people were not actually lying about all of this stuff.

Kaiba could not suppress a shudder.

XxxxxxxxxxX

The lonely hoot of an owl reached his ears from far overhead. The close-growing trees and brush made the going slow, but Yami tackled it with steadfast determination. The events of the night were turning around in his mind ceaselessly, constantly bombarding him with answerless questions. He kept seeing Yugi's face, his somber, solemn face. His empty eyes plagued Yami's thoughts; they were dark and devoid of emotion, as though he had already given up.

Yugi knew better than anyone what kinds of torture Yami's spirit would go through without him. Having your other half suddenly torn away from you threw your whole personality off balance, and Yami, without that inner guiding light, could only wonder how long it would take for the darkness to rule him. But Yugi would never give up, he would fight on to the bitter end. But could Yami do the same?

He could not know the answers to these troubling questions, and so he put them to the back of his mind for now. In truth he did not much care what happened to himself, so long as Yugi was back where he belonged. Yugi never deserved any of the craziness that was constantly thrust upon him, but he accepted the burdens willingly to make certain that others did not have to.

_I _will_ get you back Yugi. _Yami vowed silently with all of his heart. _No one will ever be able to keep us apart, I swear._

The night was quiet, and the moon was blotted out by the canopy of gnarled branches overhead; so he pulled out a small flashlight to guide the way. Despite the warnings that Argeth had given him, Yami felt his guard relaxing on its own as time wore on, for the silence was peaceful and serene. He had been walking for a long while, yet had seen nothing that would give any indication of a threat. He pressed onward, and soon enough he broke out of the mess of plants and found that he was suddenly crunching hard packed dirt and rock under his boots. A road stretched straight and true in the direction he was headed, and he gladly stepped onto it, savoring the now easy going journey.

He had only taken a few steps when a slight gust of wind sighed through the trees, and he thought he heard a low moan riding through the breeze. He stopped and listened for a moment, but there was nothing to be heard. After a second he shrugged and continued on down the path. The snap of a twig a second later made him whirl around, aiming the beam into the bushes on the side of the road. _Something _darted away before the icy blue light could spot it, shuffling through the leaves with a bestial grunt.

_Just an animal. _Yami convinced himself, but now his guard was back up and his steps were weighted with caution. Some sort of sixth sense was pulling at him softly, urging him to be ready. Ready for what?

Then came the whispers. He was not sure how long he had been subconsciously listening to them, but now his ears were picking up on many teasing words sliding through the night. At first nothing more than random words floated to his mind, but after he listened long enough they began to form patterns. Dark patterns. Like some sort of twisted chant, the kind that the Shadow Realm was known for. He unconsciously sped his pace as they began drilling into his head.

_For the powers that you seek,__ B__e not humble, don't be meek._ _Come and take what you deserve,__ T__he darkness we have in reserve__,_

_ For you. For you._

_Take blade in hand and strike him down,__ L__et go of your heart and turn around,__ F__or the path of Darkness has always been found__,_

_ In you. In you._

Then the shadows literally erupted; twisting, twining figures dancing at the edges of his vision. He spun around, his hand automatically flying to his belt. But as soon as his hand closed around the hilt of the knife it burned him, sending shooting pain through his body. The shadows cackled and sang louder, knowing that the very blade he sought to use was forged from the blackest of shadows, and so it could not be used against them. They began begging for him to succumb to their seductive cries and take their burden upon himself, to accept their dark powers and add them to his growing evil strength. He clapped his hands over his ears and ran; the shadows gave chase, hooting with insanity. The call grew ever louder.

_By Darkness born and by Darkness killed,__ B__y Light no more shall you be filled__, __Reach out for our gifts and partake of__ o__ur strength,__ L__et go of the hope and banish your faith._

_ For us. For us._

_We'll raise you up and hold you high,__ Y__ou'll destroy the __D__ark __O__ne with hardly a sigh__, __Or save the one who chains you down,__ W__ho has taken away the Ra given crown._

_ From you. From you._

"No!" Yami yelled, but his protest was swallowed up as soon as it left his lips. He ran as hard as he could, but the path stretched on endlessly before him, and he could feel the darkness gaining on him. Hot breath rushed down the back of his neck, and claws tugged at his jacket sharply. He jerked to get out of the way and overbalanced, sprawling off of the path. The flashlight went flying out of his grasp as he spread his hands out to catch himself. But to his surprise, where a moment before he had seen solid ground, a steep decline edged away from the sides of the road. He hit the ground hard and slid down to the bottom roughly, he could feel the skin tearing off of his palms and his clothes getting ripped by the sharp rocks. When he finally bounced to the end of the rough ride and looked up, there was no path at all. The whispers were softer now that he was away from the shadows, for they seemed reluctant to step down to his level. Almost as though they could not leave the area where the road had been.

Not bothering to wait and find out, he sprung up again, ignoring the pain in his body and rushing as far away from them as he could. For a moment the only sound was his heavy breathing, coming in great gasps as the adrenaline coursed through his body. But then, slowly, the chanting started again.

_Come take what you deserve,__ L__et go of your heart, turn around,__ R__each out for our gifts, partake of our strength,__ D__estroy the one who chains you down!_

Screams chased after him, startling him enough to make him trip and go flying to the ground again. He grunted and struggled to get up, but the strength would not come. He looked into the shadows, and saw the figures begin to move closer, closing in on his weakened form. Four very familiar faces emerged from the darkness, their expressions twisted in snarls, their soulless eyes glowing bright yellow.

Tea, Tristan, Joey and Kaiba all opened their mouths at the same time and spoke, taking one step forward with every word.

_Take us. Use us. Wield us. Guide us.__Live us. Breathe us. Be us.__You are one of us._

_ ... One of us._

They closed in on him, their dark and poisonous words seeping into his head easily. He began shaking, trying so hard to ignore the many implications of their words.

_I could take the darkness. _Said one soft inner voice. _I could use it to avenge Yugi._

_No. _Another voice argued. _I must not lose myself to the anger, not again._

_ It's too late. _The dark voice shot back. _Look at yourself, you've already begun to lose your way. Even now your inner most desire is only to kill, you care nothing of what happens to Yugi, or any of the others__!_

_ It's not true! _He argued, but his voice grew softer from lack of conviction. _I don't want to be a killer, I want to save Yugi! He needs me, and I need him!_

The other voice laughed, sounding disturbingly similar to the laugh he had heard in the graveyard. _But you don't need him anymore, you have a body of your own, so the vessel is no longer needed. Admit it, you only want him back so you can use him again!_

"NO!" Yami roared, and a bright light erupted from his belt. The shadowy forms of his friends hissed in protest, and when the spots before Yami's eyes cleared he gaped up in wonder and awe at what he beheld.

Dark Magician stood protectively over his master, his staff raised threateningly.

_Go!_ He shouted down. _I will hold them for as long as I can._

Yami was off and running before he had even registered the words, his mind whirling too fast to make heads or tails of anything within it. Bright flashes of light burst through the trees behind him every few seconds, illuminating the immediate area.

He knew that the Dark Magician would not last much longer against the horde of... whatever they were, and so he tore through the trees as swiftly as he could.

_Please._ He begged silently. _Please let it be here._

Branches whipped at his face and cut him, but he paid them no attention. He could feel his heart growing heavy with the knowledge of impending doom, and just as he was about to give up the search a huge white, pyramid-shaped building erupted out of the trees in front of him. Stumbling forward as fast as his legs would carry him he rushed up to the huge double doors and tore them open, bursting into the bright room.

A cold whisper danced after him.

_...One of us..._

_**A/N: Ooooh... Like I said, my favourite chapter! Sorry for the long A/N above, but I had a lot to say, and haha, I didn't want to make it longer by saying that. Also, please click the pretty button that has the nice word review taped on it. It would make me happy! **_


	7. Trinity Sage

**Author's Note: Okay, this is a very long chapter, so please bear with me! I'm introducing three (yes three) OC's, but don't fret, they do play a vital role in this story. And they aren't in every chapter from now on, so don't panic. This is still about Yami and Yugi. Also, I want to say thanks for reviewing. Thanks for reviewing!**

Kaiba whirled around at the sound his front door being flung open, the hard wood slamming into the wall with a loud bang. Bakura stood in the entryway to his mansion, his gaunt face looking even more ghostly in the pale light.

"Expecting someone else?" Bakura sneered at Kaiba's dumbfounded expression. "Sorry to disappoint you, _Seto._"

After a moment Kaiba recovered both his wits and his foul mood. "Who do you think you are?" He demanded. "Barging into my home unannounced, you're lucky I don't bring the entire weight of Kaiba Corp. down on your pathetic head! Now get out of my house before I really lose my temper!" He growled threateningly, to which Bakura only smiled darkly.

"Ah, but Kaiba I would have thought you'd be glad to see me. After all, we two are more alike than you may realize."

Kaiba's rapidly thinning patience was nearing its end. "That's a lie, we are nothing alike! Now get out!"

He started toward Bakura, intending to force the smaller man out of his home. But Bakura snapped his fingers quickly, his smile vanishing in the blink of an eye. Everything suddenly froze; Kaiba could not move a muscle, while Bakura walked over and gripped his chin, forcing his stationary blue eyes to look straight into his.

"Listen you arrogant fool." Bakura growled, all traces of teasing gone. "Tonight you and I have the same goals. I have been betrayed, by someone who should be serving _me_ in the first place. Now he has all the power he needs to claim the prize that _I_ have worked so hard to gain, and I cannot allow that now can I?"

Bakura reached into his coat and pulled forth the Millennium Ring, gazing at it fondly. "He underestimated me, a mistake he'll live to regret in time. I have much more power than he could ever understand, and I _will_ take the prize that should have been mine all along! But for that dear Kaiba... I need you."

Though he still could not move, Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously at the intruder, and Bakura understood his thoughts as clearly as if he had spoken them aloud. He chuckled, low and humorless.

"Oh, you'll help me. Because you see _Seto_, I'm not leaving you any choice in the matter."

Kaiba's soundless snarl spoke volumes. _Oh yeah? And just what are you going to do?_

Just then, the sound of light little footsteps echoing down the hall reached both of their listening ears. Bakura's wicked grin stole the blood from Kaiba's face, and the confidence from his frame. He tried to yell out, but his lips would not move. Bakura slipped into the shadows of the stairway, waiting.

Mokuba came round the corner a moment later, shivering at the chill breeze that gusted in from the open doorway. "Seto?" He asked, looking at his brother's still form staring out into the night. "What are you doing?"

When there was no response, Mokuba put his hands on his hips and sighed, walking over to get to Kaiba's front side.

"Big brother?" He asked again, raising his hand to wave it in front of Seto's face. "Set-"

He bit off the rest of his sentence when he saw Kaiba's horrified expression. A flash of movement out of the corner of his eye alerted him just in time, and when he looked he found himself staring into Bakura's dark eyes. He gasped and started to back up, his automatic response being to run out the front door. But he hesitated, unable to leave his brother behind.

Bakura lunged and Mokuba dodged out of the way without thinking, bolting out the door and sprinting up the street as fast as he could.

_I've gotta get help._ He thought quickly. _Yugi! Yugi will know what to do..._

He glanced back over his shoulder as he ran; he could just see inside the front door from here. But Bakura was not behind him, or in the house as far as he could see. When he looked ahead again he skidded on the wet pavement in desperation. Bakura was right in front of him. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of Mokuba's shirt, hoisting him off of the ground easily.

"Let me go!" Mokuba shouted, kicking and squirming. "When my big brother gets a hold of you..." He threatened, but Bakura only held him tighter.

"Your big brother might want to be very careful about how he decides to answer me." Bakura snarled, his cold brown gaze drilling into Mokuba intently.

That was the last thing Mokuba saw.

Kaiba's enraged expression showed clearly that Bakura would have been dead by now if he could have moved. Bakura walked in the front door casually, holding Mokuba under one arm like a rag doll. He closed the door calmly and dropped him roughly at Kaiba's feet.

"I would tell you what happened to him," Bakura said sarcastically. "But you don't believe in the Shadow Realm, do you?" He laughed harshly and drew out a single card, its back to Kaiba, holding it teasingly in front of his face.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked, waving it back and forth. "You should, I believe Pegasus pulled this very same trick on you in Duelist Kingdom, did he not?"

Kaiba's eyes widened and then narrowed again, glaring at the card as though he would drill holes in it with the sheer intensity of his gaze. _That must be one of those Soul Cards__,_he thought venomously.

Of course this was not true, Bakura could not control the powers of the Millennium Eye any more than Kaiba himself, but he did not have to know that. Let him think that Mokuba was more than just unconscious, it would serve him right for not paying more attention to his ancient history lessons.

"Now, let's try this again. I'm going to let you out of my spell Kaiba, but just in case you try anything _cute_..." He put his other hand on the top of the common monster card. "I have only to flick my wrist and I can send your brother spiraling down to the lowest reaches of darkness."

Kaiba suddenly straightened, released from the magic that bound him. He was shaking hard, a loathing expression on his hard face. "What do you want?" He asked quietly, making no effort to conceal his hatred.

Bakura smirked. "Let me start from the beginning..."

XxxxxxxxxX

Row upon row of neatly organized bookshelves filled every square inch of free space that could be found within the vast library, a testament to the prowess of the three men that lived here.

One of them, blond and very handsome, lay on the plush carpet just inside the foyer, absently flicking a small marble up into the air every few seconds. Up and down, up and down. He would catch it between two fingers and then send it spinning away again. Then finally he let out a huge sigh and rolled over onto his side, facing another white robed man that sat scribbling with a slender quill. He watched the tip of the feather wave back and forth with the most exquisite expression of boredom on his fair face. He let out another exaggerated sigh, and the other man caught on to the subtle clue and looked up, wearing a small smile.

"Hey James, when are we going on another mission? I'm bored out of my mind here!"

"We should be thankful that there are no conflicts in the world serious enough to require our aid in resolving, Brother Jacob. There is much peace in the world."

"Yeah, well, peace is boring." Jacob mumbled, to which James laughed, the sound echoing melodically like the tinkle of a bell.

"What are you writing anyway?" Jacob asked, standing up and adjusting his own robes as he walked over to the desk. He peered over James' shoulder, trying to decipher the elegant script.

"Just filling in the details of our last battle. The one where those fragments of Time unraveled and spun out of control."

"Oh yeah! Where we were running around for days trying to babysit our younger versions before we finally found the breach."

"Yes, that one." James smiled again. He wrote in silence for a few more minutes, then put his quill in the holder and the stopper on the ink bottle. He reached back and gave a great stretch, unclasping the clip in his long white hair as he did so, letting it fall back down over his young face. Then he rolled his sleeves down, letting them hang loose now that there was no ink to stain them.

"It will take a while for that to dry, so what say you I make supper in the meantime?" James asked, casting a sideways glance at Jacob.

"Good idea. I can help, if you want?" Jacob offered.

James did well to hide his grimace. "Thank you Jacob, but after the noodle incident I think it would be better if I handled the cooking for a while." He said gently. Jacob, never easily offended, just smiled and nodded.

Just then a crash sounded from the room off to the side of the main entryway, followed by a loud oath. Josh staggered from the room coughing and waving heavily-perfumed smoke away from his face. Jacob was at his blood brother's side in an instant.

"Josh! What happened?" He asked, thumping him on the back. Josh coughed a few times before taking a deep breath. His face was pale.

"Jacob, James." He rasped, trying to speak. James disappeared around the corner and came back a second later carrying a glass of water, which Josh accepted gratefully.

"Thanks." He said softly, brushing his black hair out of his emerald eyes.

"What happened?" James repeated, but Josh shook his head. "You had better see for yourself."

He led them into the small room cautiously, warning them to hold their robes over their noses. "I was meditating." Josh explained, pointing to the small circle on the floor in which many runes had been inscribed, with a few overturned candles melting into puddles on the floor. "Searching the world for signs of disturbance."

"And did you find any?" Jacob asked.

"Oh, I found one alright." Josh replied sarcastically. "It startled me so badly I knocked over the candles, and I think the smoke comes from what remains of that bundle of dried plants the herbalist sent us, in thanks for rescuing her from that mutant venus fly trap."

"No wonder it is so heavily scented." James coughed under his robe. "Small matter though. What did you find?"

"I'm not sure. All I could see was black. It was not what I saw so much as what I _felt_. It's hard to explain."

"Maybe if you tried again?" Jacob suggested. Josh's pale face paled further a second time. James, catching the look, said quickly, "Only if you think you can, Brother Josh. We won't tax you too far."

"No, I'll be fine. Jacob, would you mind fetching more ceremonial candles from the stock room? My supply is running low." Jacob nodded and vanished out the door.

James walked over and placed a steadying hand on Josh's shoulder in silent comfort.

"I don't know how to explain it." Josh tried to describe what had happened. "One moment I was just floating there, keeping watch over the fabrics of time and space as I normally do. Nothing changed physically, but I sensed a great sort of... ripple rush through everything. As if the fate of all of these interconnecting threads were suddenly being placed on one point, one decision alone."

"Who could possibly have the power to choose the fate of the world?" James breathed, awed. Josh shook his head.

"I don't know. Let's just hope I find some answers soon."

Jacob came back into the room then, carrying a small armload of bright red candles. When they were securely placed on the floor and lit, Josh sat cross-legged in the circle again and closed his eyes.

He began to hum in a low monotone, Jacob and James adding their voices to his in support. Soon enough Josh was able to concentrate enough to slip into the trance that allowed him to see the world in detail. Ribbons of color flowed across his vision, each one representing a different element. Gold for Time, grey for space, blue for reality and so on. Everything seemed normal, all of the wisps were twining in and out of each other in harmony. But still, something was out of place. He sifted through the strands gently, trying to peer farther into the web.

Suddenly, a tentacle of deep red shot out of the mass and bound him tightly. Back in the room, Jacob and James watched in alarm as Josh's form stiffened and his voice cracked and faded.

"Josh?" Jacob asked tentatively. "Josh?"

Josh's eyes suddenly flew open, but his gaze was far distant; he spoke in a voice that was not his own.

"A great light approaches." he droned. "But it is shrouded by an even greater darkness. Beware Sages, Earth's greatest trial is nigh." Then he gave a great shudder and seemed to regain himself, blinking in confusion at his companions' startled expressions.

"What happened?" Josh whispered.

XxxxxxxxX

A few minutes later they were standing in the entrance to the library, debating whether or not to go and search for this strange event, or wait for it to come to them.

"If this 'light' is coming through the forest, I very much doubt it will get here on its own." James said, concern ringing in his voice.

"Yes, but if we are out while it comes here, then it might be too late by the time we get back anyway." Jacob pointed out.

"Then let's not all go at once." Josh suggested. "Have someone remain here just in case."

"Good idea. Be off at once then, I shall remain here." James instructed. The other two nodded, and were just turning to the door when it was suddenly flung open from the outside.

A young man stood in the doorway, leaning on it heavily for support. A burst of light illuminated the darkness behind his form for a moment, shadowing his face dramatically. His trembling lips moved soundlessly, he was either trying to speak or to scream, they could not tell. He was breathing hard, and his violet eyes were wide and terrified. A slight breeze chased after him, and when he heard it his face lost all colour; he seemed to lose strength. His stance wobbled and his whole frame shook violently.

"Watch out!"

"He's going to fall!"

Josh sprang forward, catching the man before he hit the ground and lowered him gently to the floor. Jacob and James rushed over quickly, looking out into the night to discern what had scared him so. There was nothing, save the quiet wind and soft darkness. James shut the door quickly, locking it just to be safe. Then he turned to the fallen man.

Josh looked up at them. "He's out cold."

James knelt and gave him a quick once over. He seemed to be alright, just unconscious. Just before they tried to wake him though, Jacob started and pointed to his hip.

"Is that what I think it is?" He murmured, his gaze locked onto the ruby and onyx pommel. James and Josh looked at it in awe and fear, and James reached out a tentative hand to take it out of its sheath. As soon as he touched the hilt, however, he gasped and drew his hand back, clutching at it as though he'd been burned.

"It is." He breathed. "No other dagger could hold such an evil aura. It is the blade of Set, that very same devil we tried to defeat so very long ago."

"No." Josh whispered. "It cannot be. No one could have survived with such wounds! True we never got to strike the final blow, but there is no way he could have..."

Jacob was pale. "He must have. There is no other explanation. Such a blade does not come by the dozens, so this must be the very same one." He paused for a moment, looking to his young companions. "What are we going to do?"

"We cannot ignore the significance of the blade. He must be tested to ensure that his designs are not evil ones. We must be sure that the blade is not in the wrong hands." James thought to himself for a moment. "Josh's vision is vital as well. If it is true, then the world is soon to be faced with a great danger, and this man may be the key to it's salvation... or it's destruction."

They let the words settle for a moment before they drew their attention back to the matter at hand. Josh unfastened the whole belt so that he could take the knife without actually touching it. There was another rectangular pouch that he looked at curiously before slipping it into the man's pocket instead. Once he was sure that the man could be moved safely, James began to give instructions.

"Jacob, go and prepare the spare room for him. Make sure he has plenty of blankets and the soft mattress." Jacob nodded and rushed off. James bent low and scooped the man's limp form off of Josh's lap, holding him with one arm under his legs and the other around his shoulders.

"Josh, will you please get the medicine for our fallen friend? He looks like he took quite a tumble."

Josh inclined his head and quickly and sped off in another direction.

James began walking toward the set of stairs that spiraled up to the library's private quarters, making sure not to jostle the man too roughly. His face was covered in all manner of cuts and bruises, and his breathing was ragged and shallow. James' forehead creased in worry. He sensed a great turmoil in this man, and he felt certain that before they parted ways he was going to discover that the outcome of that inner war would have a great impact on the rest of the world.

**A/N: I just want to say that James is not an old man. Well... he doesn't look like one. He's twenty years old as of October 9th. All of them look like they're 17-21 years old. You'll find out why in the sequel. If you have any questions regarding this chapter, please include them in the reviews. Thanks for reading this!**


	8. Little Brother

_**Author's Note: **_**Okay, so I don't remember the last time I updated, so I'm sorry if it was a long time ago. Lots of foreshadowing in this chapter! Woot woot!**

Jacob was just tugging the last of the thick blankets onto the bed when James entered the room. He gently sat the man down and instructed Jacob to hold him up. Then he helped him out of his jacket as Josh came in with a steaming bowl of water and a small bottle of medicine.

"Has he awoken yet?" Josh asked, placing the bowl on the floor.

"No." James answered. "It is his injuries that overwhelmed him, and until they heal his mind will likely not allow him to wake."

"So... did the forest challenge him too?" Jacob asked in a small voice. None of them really knew much about the forest in and of itself, for it had been just a regular wood until the library had been built. Then it had begun changing in order to test a visitor's heart, by looking into their soul and bombarding them with their worst nightmares. Only those who got past the illusions were able to get to the library.

"It seems that whatever was tormenting him had an equal effect on both his mind and his body." James murmured. As he pulled the man's shirt over his head, Jacob gasped and Josh let out a low whistle.

"An illusion did _that_?" Jacob mumbled. His torso was covered in fiendish scrapes and scratches, some still oozing blood and some scabbed over. It looked as though some great beast had raked his body with sharp claws. James' face was twisted with sympathy.

"An illusion has the power to kill you if you believe in it enough." James pulled his unconscious form closer, so that his head was resting on his shoulder and his back was bent, revealing the worst of the cuts.

Josh cleaned and applied the medicine to the wounds on his back, while Jacob attended to his hands. The skin was torn roughly where the rocks had bitten him, and Jacob spent a long and careful moment plucking the shards of stone out before he bandaged the wounds. Then they switched and Jacob tended the man's front half while Josh pulled off his boots and added another blanket.

"There. I think that's the best we can do for him. Hopefully the damage done has been healed enough to allow him to wake soon." Jacob whispered.

"Yes, a good night's rest will be the best thing for him now." Josh agreed, as they turned to leave. "Are you coming James?"

"Just a minute." He said absently, waving his friends away. When he was alone in the room he looked down at the man and noticed that his eyes were wandering feverishly behind his eyelids, obviously re-living whatever had happened to him in the forest.

James, understanding the pains that the trials could offer, placed one slender hand on his brow and murmured, "Sleep, brother."

Instantly, his whole body relaxed, and he let out a deep sigh. For now at least, he had escaped the haunting torments of the night, and he could sleep in peace. In the morning though, they would begin the final trials for those wishing to use the library, to determine whether it's great knowledge was to be used for good or for ill. This would be the first time in a very long time indeed that the trials were to be enacted, and James sensed that it was not exactly going to be the most commonplace event that had ever taken place within the Library's revered halls.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

The silence was nothing and yet everything at the same time. It blotted out rational thought and allowed emotions alone to guide his wandering consciousness. Random bits of feeling floated past him, some catching hold for a moment before flitting away, others simply passing through.

He lay like that for a long while, basking in the freedom of not having any heavy and troublesome thoughts to weigh him down. But eventually, as all things must, the peaceful glow of sleep faded, and sharp reality settled on him once again. The first thing he noticed was that he was warm, and lying on something very soft.

_I'm not outside then. _He thought sluggishly. _But then where...?"_

His eyelids wavered slightly, and he opened them slowly to allow them to adjust. Bright light streamed in through the window on his right, stinging his eyes. He turned his head away and felt for the cord to pull the curtains shut. As soon as the room was comfortably dark, he examined himself. His palms were bandaged lightly and his torso was covered in a thin cloth of some sort. Raising his hands to his face, he patted a few bandages here and there. Confused, he tried to make sense of this.

The last thing he remembered was fleeing from those dark fiends that had disguised themselves as his friends... so how did he end up here?

He swung his legs over the bedside and attempted to stand. He wobbled shakily for a few minutes before his stance was solid enough to support him. There was a mirror next to the bed, and he peered into it hesitantly, wondering at the extent of the damage.

Aside from a few minor scratches there was nothing to see, his lips were cracked and the back of his throat was parched, but he knew that they had nothing to do with the forest. His stomach rumbled suddenly, loudly, and he put a hand to it, a bit startled.

_I must remember that a body has limitations, and needs.__,_he chastised himself. He never had to worry about it before, such trivial details were unimportant to him before...

A gentle knock sounded from the door, breaking his thoughts. He spun around instinctively, putting his back to the wall and automatically reaching for the knife. But it was not there.

He had no time to react to this startling bit of information as the door opened and a golden-haired youth walked in, carrying a steaming tray of food. He straightened proudly, determined to be cautious until he knew more about his situation.

"Who are you?" He demanded, in what was supposed to be a strong and confident tone of voice, but to his embarrassment, the sound cracked roughly before it was fully out of his mouth. The man looked at him with a small smile, his blue eyes twinkling.

"My name is Jacob. My brothers and I are the the Trinity Sage that dwell in the Library of the Ancients. Might I ask your name?"

A thousand memories came back to him at those words. He remembered the Dark Magician, and the library finally coming into view just as he was about to give up. Alarmed, his hand flew to his waist again, searching for his deck, and he felt a small twinge of guilt when he thought that it should have been the first thing he had reached for. Again his hand closed on only air, and he snapped his eyes back up to Jacob.

Seeing his distressed look, Jacob hastily pointed to a small chair in the corner of the room that he had not noticed before. His jacket and boots were on it, and he rushed over, frantically searching for his cards. As soon as he found them a surge of relief rushed through him, bringing a small sense of comfort and familiarity. But the knife was still not there. He turned again to ask, but Jacob beat him to it.

"Unfortunately there is one item of yours that we cannot return just yet. You may know already that the dagger is no ordinary blade. I can only say that we have encountered it before, and thought it destroyed. The fact that you have it raises troubling questions, and we must be certain that its path does not foretell disaster."

"I can assure you that the dagger is only to be used for good." He vowed, but Jacob seemed unconvinced.

"All the same, we have to be careful. If you would grant us permission to test you though, we can determine whether or not you are trustworthy of such a deadly weapon."

"Test?" He said sharply, remembering how the forest had 'tested' him. Jacob waved his hands at his choice of words.

"It will not be anything like you encountered before, of that you have my promise. We will simply look into your heart and your mind, in order to see if you can handle such a responsibility. Completely painless, I swear."

"Very well then, when does it begin?" He straightened his shoulders readily, but Jacob shook his head.

"Please, rest some more. You are not fully healed yet, and the Trials are best performed when someone is well rested." He motioned to the tray of food. "Once you have eaten and slept for a while longer, come through this door and down to the main library. We should be ready for you then."

He was about to leave when the man called after him. "I do not have much time to spare. Perhaps it would be better if we finished the trial as soon as possible."

"Right, I keep forgetting you're new here." He laughed. "Time does not pass while we are in these hallowed halls. When you leave it will be at the same moment you arrived." His eyes widened a moment before he nodded.

"Thank you." He looked at the floor for a moment, debating. Then he apparently decided, for he looked up again with a measure of respect in his eyes. "My name is Y-Yami." He stumbled over the word a bit, so unused to using it in the place of _Yugi_.

"Yami." Jacob repeated, as if testing the word. "It suits you." With that, he departed, leaving Yami to ponder his words.

_So I will not be any farther behind in time th__a__n when I started. _Yami mused. _Good, I cannot afford to waste any time, for Yugi's sake._

The soup was delicious, and he was especially grateful for the tall glass of cool water that accompanied it. As soon as he finished he felt refreshed, as though the meal had charged him somewhat. But a moment later the energized feeling faded, replaced by a tingling, sleepy kind of warmth. His eyes suddenly felt heavy and hard to hold up, and with a full stomach and a soft bed he found himself wondering if more rest was not such a bad thing after all.

He barely managed to stumble back over to the bed before he fell asleep, sinking into the warmth and feeling a sense of long absent safety wash over him. He did not yet know why, but he felt he could trust these people, whoever they were.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Josh found Jacob with his ear pressed against the door, listening intently. When the only sound that came through the wood was deep, heavy breathing he had to stifle a laugh. When they were a safe distance down the hall Jacob let Josh in on the joke.

"James put some sort of weird herb in the soup." Jacob snickered. "Knocked him out like a light."

Josh smiled. "I suppose he was just worried that he might not feel relaxed enough to sleep more. And a weary mind would only make the tests more difficult."

"Yeah, it sure comes in handy when someone doesn't want to go to bed." Jacob agreed. He stopped suddenly halfway down the stairs as a new thought clicked, nearly causing Josh to run into him and send them both flying down the steps. He glanced back with a questioning look on his face.

"Hey, you don't think he ever...?" He left the rest unspoken, but they both understood what he meant. They looked at each other for a moment, incredulously.

"Nah." They said together. James may be strict about personal sleeping habits, but he wouldn't go _that_ far...

Would he?

XxxxxxxxxxxX

For the next few hours they devoured countless numbers of books in their search to discover any information that would lend some insight into this strange man's character.

But for all of their knowledge of the library, all of the thousands of books that they had even penned themselves, there was not a trace of evidence to suggest that anyone with the name 'Yami' had ever existed.

Josh threw down his last read in disgust. "Nothing." He grumbled. "He must have given us a fake name."

Jacob too, was confused, but less willing to discredit Yami. In the short span of time they had talked, Jacob felt as though Yami would not be one to lie, even about something so seemingly insignificant.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong spot." James thought aloud. If he truly is a 'great light' as the vision told us, then perhaps he is someone of greater importance than the common folk we've been sifting through. Perhaps even as high as royalty."

"He did seem to have a rather regal air about him." Jacob commented. "Let's go through the kings and rulers then."

A few more minutes of crammed search and Josh finally let out a small cry of victory.

"'King Yami the Pharaoh ruled the lands of Ancient Egypt in a time when the Gods raged through the skies uncontrolled.'" He read aloud. "'Using a powerful magic that had been forged in those times, he bravely sealed away the dark powers that raged across land within the seven Millennium Items. But the act of sealing away this great darkness cost him his life, and his soul was trapped within the Millennium Puzzle, which was shattered and placed in his tomb. See the copy of the 'Ancient Scriptures' for more detail.'"

At the completion of the short script, they all looked at each other open-mouthed. James seemed most shocked.

"He is _that _Yami?" He whispered to himself.

"Wow." Jacob murmured, and neither of them could disagree.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

When Yami awakened he followed Jacob's instructions and headed down the stairs into the main hall. The library was huge, beyond the scope of any he had ever seen before with Yugi, and he stood for a moment simply basking in the marvelous collection of such knowledge. After a moment he sensed movement behind him, and turned to see three white robed men standing patiently behind him.

The dark haired man stepped forward and spoke first, giving a quick bow.

"Good evening Yami. I am Josh, the Eternal Sage. And these are my brothers: Jacob the Immortal Sage, whom you've met already, and James, the Millennium Sage."

Each man bowed at his name, and Yami could hardly contain his surprise. The man in the middle was a good deal taller than the other two, and his hair was stark white, though he looked no older than Yami himself. James caught the look and smiled to dispel the question he no doubt had.

"Not blood brothers of course, but sticking with your companions for so long and through so many crazy adventures tends to make you transcend the bonds of normal friendships. It can be rather confusing at times, but we believe such a bond is worth the inconveniences. You understand."

Of course, Yami understood better than they realized. He too had shared such a bond once upon a time, a friendship that was sweeter than anything else, and he knew well the feelings that went with it. Love was the connection, the glue that held these kinds of relationships together, and it could only be forged between people who have decided that the other's wants and needs rank above their own. It was rare to find those kinds of friends in these times, and he knew that they should be treasured above all else.

Yugi's face entered his thoughts again, and a surge of guilt pounded at him. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, and stoked the fires of his anger again to keep the horrible emotion at bay. His eyes were hard when he looked up again.

"Let's begin then." Yami said quietly, sounding tired already.

They sensed the change in him, and looked at each other a little apprehensively. "Very well." James conceded. "Jacob, if you would not mind...?"

Jacob stepped forward and clapped his hands together once, murmuring softly.

"The Immortal Sage will initiate the first trial: The Trial of the Heart. And as we promised, it will be nothing like the tests perceived in the forest."

Yami nodded, and Jacob closed the distance between them with a few more steps. He rested his hand lightly over Yami's heart and his own. Jacob closed his eyes and concentrated, letting the ebb and flow of Yami's steadily beating heart guide him. Soon enough he began to sense a rather confusing swirl of emotions that pounded away inside of him, and he edged closer.

Tentacles of dark emotion twined over Yami's heart like a spider's web. He had never seen anything like it before! Poisonous guilt and apathy twisted over and through each other like snakes; they were the thickest of strands. There was also hatred and anger to a lesser degree, but they were steadily getting stronger with every passing moment. As far as he could see these dark feelings and thoughts were poisoning Yami; there was not a positive emotion to be found anywhere.

But then, a tiny flash of golden light sparked underneath the pulsating mass, and Jacob moved closer curiously. He carefully maneuvered himself under the dense web to get to the inner sanctuary, where a single golden spark flitted dangerously close to the darkness.

Jacob reached out and gently cupped it in his palm. The little light flared briefly, and Jacob recognized it at once. Love.

He cast about for the remains of the light, for there had to be more than this! After a moment of searching he finally came across a little gold box that was shut tight under the weight of a solid lock. Lines of worry creased his face. What kind of horrible tragedy would force someone to abandon love? Why on earth would he lock away the very thing that kept the weight of the darkness from crushing him? That one tiny little spark was the only thing standing between Yami's heart and a life of utter despair, and Jacob doubted that it would last much longer than it had already.

He withdrew from Yami's heart then, having seen enough.

Back in the room, the other two watched as Jacob shivered and came back into himself, and Yami blinked a few times as well. Jacob could still feel the torment surging through Yami from this distance, and the thought unsettled him. He longed to speak to his brethren about this rather shaking event, but they had agreed to wait until the end of their trials before they pooled their results.

James came forward next. "I, the Millennium Sage, will now begin the Trial of Soul." He said solemnly, and placed both hands squarely on Yami's shoulders. He looked deeply into Yami's eyes and focused the intensity of his gaze as near to the center as he could. Yami matched his look uncomfortably, unused to having someone stare at him so. After a second James' eyes shifted, their icy hues seeming to dull slightly.

Yami's whole body instantly became translucent, as though he had suddenly become a ghost. His outline shifted and wavered like rippling water in the wind, no more than a thin barrier between the inner and outer worlds.

A swirling cloud was twisting in the center of that outline, and James noted with approval that it was white, the color that indicated purity and courage. But the cloud was much smaller than normal, as though it had been neglected somehow. And then he noticed the problem.

Along one side of his soul there was a jagged edge, as though half of it had been torn away. James reached out one hand and touched the space where his aura had been torn, and as soon as he did a wave of sadness and mourning coursed through him. He sensed a great loss, as if somehow there had been more here just a short time ago, and it had been taken away.

James was well versed in the ways of aura reading, but he had never heard of only a _part_ of a soul being taken. There was still compassion and sympathy to be found here, but it was buried deep, as far away from the tear as it could possibly get.

A moment later James departed, and his eyes focused again. For the briefest instant, when their eyes locked, James could see the shame and hurt burning behind his eyes, but Yami worked quickly to close in on it so that the pain would stop. James sighed in understanding. Sometimes it was hard to care, hard to be human. But Yami needed to see what this cycle of hatred and self-loathing was going to eventually do to him, else he would be doomed to a life of misery.

He drew in a small breath and let Josh take his place.

"The Eternal Sage will now perform the Trial of Mind." James whispered, as Josh placed the tip of one finger against Yami's forehead. Then, to the surprise of all of them, the Millennium Puzzle flashed with a brilliant and blinding light, and Josh disappeared.

Yami gripped at the Puzzle in shock. "What-" He started to ask, but then a searing light erupted in his vision and he crumpled to the floor.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Josh groaned and opened his eyes slowly. He sat up groggily and held his head in his hand. "What on earth...?" He murmured, his voice echoing back to him from a thousand different angles.

He was in a vast labyrinth of some sort, with strange doors that all looked the same and pathways that stretched at impossible angles.

"This guy's mind is more complex than a lot of crazy people I've met." Josh said sarcastically. Fortunately for him, he had come prepared.

He pulled a fistful of clear powder out of a pocket in his robe, casting it about in front of him and activating the spell. A beam of green light shot out from the dust, tracing along the floor in a zigzag pattern. It waited patiently for its instructions in front of him.

"Show me the way out." Josh commanded, and the light sped off, tracing a line on the floor as it went. He walked for the space of many moments, taking in everything he saw.

There were doors everywhere, but where some of them were closed, others had been flung open violently, showing their empty contents. Passageways twisted in every direction with no clear destination in mind aside from the one he currently walked. Every so often he would pass a hall that would be dark, devoid of any of the torchless light that spanned the entire length of the maze.

Once, when he paused to look into one door, he felt a terrible foreboding feeling wash over him; he tore his gaze away quickly and hurried on. Eventually the maze became more orderly, and the light brought him to one door that was different from the rest. A single eye was carved into the metal slab, and it seemed to watch him intently.

The light zipped back and forth in front of the door, but it seemed uncertain of whether or not to approach.

"Is this the way?" He asked it. "Can I get out from here?"

The green light wavered for a moment, and then went out. Alarmed, Josh backed up a step as a great force swelled behind the opening. Abruptly, it was flung open, and a huge gaping abyss glared out from the door. Josh felt his gaze being drawn into the hole, like it was beckoning to him. Unconsciously he took a step closer to the depths, his eyes glazing over and his heart growing cold.

_Wait, wait!_ His mind screamed, but his body wouldn't listen. The pit began to draw in air like a vacuum, growing stronger and pulling his robes forward wildly. He took another shaking step. Soon, he would fall into that abyss, there was nothing he could do to stop himself. He bowed his head in silent farewell to his companions, cursing his lack of caution.

Suddenly, a small but strong hand grabbed the hem of his robes and tugged him backward.

"Dark Magician, help us!" Came a call from behind; a child's voice. A dark form soared over their heads and tackled the door, pushing with all of his might to close the gaping hole. They wasted no time, dashing away from the door as fast as they could. Josh's rescuer kept to the shadows as much as was possible, ducking and dodging for a long moment before finally stopping in front of a rather large crack in the wall.

"This appeared a little while after everything started changing." The child said softly. "We'll be safe inside."

The hole at the base of the crack was a tight squeeze, but Josh just managed to get in. Then he turned to the child, intending to thank him, and felt his jaw about hit the floor.

The kid looked just like Yami, but he was dressed in a Pharaoh's garb. He looked at Josh with an 'are-you-crazy?' look on his little face. His red eyes glowed in the darkness.

"You must be new here; no one goes near that corridor anymore, not since Little Brother went away." He said softly.

Josh cleared his throat. "Who- who are you?" He asked, wondering what on earth was going on.

"I'm just another piece of the puzzle." The child answered cryptically. "I exist here in Big Brother's mind, just like all the others. But things have begun changing around here, and every time that dark door opens a little more of our home disappears."

His tone was sad and almost aged, as though he had already seen far too much of this world. Josh figured that he must be a part of Yami's mind come to life, and that this whole place was the inside of his thoughts.

"You have seen them, haven't you? The black corridors and the empty rooms. It didn't used to be this way, there used to be happy things here, lots of light so you wouldn't get lost. But when Little Brother got taken away... well, you see what happened."

"Who is this 'Little Brother?'" Josh inquired, wondering if it was another personified version of a piece of Yami's mind. The child looked confused.

"Little Brother. You know, the light? Hikari? Umm..." He cast about for the right word, seeing as how none of these were getting through to him. "Yugi. Yes that's it, Yugi Motou is Little Brother." The child's face grew pained as he spoke the words. "I'm not supposed to talk about him, it makes Big Brother sad. And when Big Brother gets too sad, then the door will open, and more will disappear into the void."

Josh felt himself shuddering at the cold words, yet wanting to know more. "How did this happen?"

"We're not sure. One minute everything was normal, everything was right. Then there was this strange fire that started, and it was eating away at Little Brother's room. We tried to put it out, but we couldn't cross the pathway to get to him anymore. Then it was gone suddenly, and the great darkness came and took its place." He sniffled slightly, shivering. "Little Brother kept all the bad stuff away just by being there for Big Brother. Now that he's gone, Big Brother blames himself, and he doesn't have the strength to fight it off on his own. Unless he starts to fight again, unless he is shown to care, the darkness will keep taking parts away until we're all gone. Then it will be over for everyone."

His wide eyes locked with Josh's, tears beginning to trickle steadily down his face. He clasped Josh's wrists and begged him softly.

"Please, please help him. I just want my brothers back."

A light flashed again, and Josh suddenly erupted from the Puzzle and found himself lying on his side. His shocked gaze was locked on Yami's purple eyes, and he saw that the remnants of the child's tears were still clinging to his cheeks. Yami's lips parted slightly, a breath of a whisper that could be heard clearly by everyone passing through the room.

"I just want my brother back."

_**A/N: **_**LOTS of foreshadowing. Seriously. I'm writing the sequel right now. Remember this chapter... **


	9. The Truth

_**Author's Note: Sorry I couldn't update before Christmas, but it got pretty hectic over the holidays what with Dreamer of Legends visiting. Good news though, we did discuss the sequel, which is already being written. Yay for progress! Also, thanks a bunch for the reviews, it means the world to the both of us. Okay! Shutting up now.**_

Under normal circumstances, the three sages would have joined together in private to discuss what they had seen and how to deal with it. But since this was such a strange and rare case, they wanted Yami to be in the room as well, to have him explain everything he understood about the situation.

Yami recounted his tale as best he could, decidedly starting from the time Yugi had first put the Puzzle together to the conclusion of Battle City. He left no details unexplained, even going so far as to explain Pegasus' motives for the capture of Solomon's soul and the first time he and Yugi had actually conversed with one another as separate beings.

Many times throughout the re-telling, especially when he got to a part where Yugi was harmed in some way, he would choke on the words and lower his head in shame, as if it were all his fault. He filled in all of the details of his many adventures until he could think of nothing more to add, nudging the ground absently with his toe when he was finished, unused to sharing so many of his emotions.

"But then what happened?" James asked, puzzled. "How did you and Yugi become separated?"

"I don't know." He whispered, almost too low to hear. "We were joining in the celebration of the grand opening of a theme park that a friend of ours had succeeded in building after many long years." He said again. "We split from Tea, Joey and Tristan early on, promising to meet back up with them later. For the most part, it was just like any other night. Yugi put his reputation as 'King of Games' to good use, gathering many small toys for all of his friends."

Yami smiled slightly at the bitter-sweet memory. _"__Just giving other people a smile is a good enough gift for me.__"_

"He was so selfless." Yami murmured to no one in particular. "He did not care whether his good deeds were ever thanked or returned, he considered the debt repaid simply from the smiles that lit up peoples' faces when he helped them. I wanted to do the same for him, I wanted to show him that he was appreciated and loved by all of us in the same way. I wanted to show him we cared." He paused, struggling for calm.

"It was only for a moment. I wandered off for a second, promising to be back soon. Not soon enough I know now.

"I had gotten him a new card actually, one that I thought would give him an extra edge in duels to come. I don't know why yet, but I had a strange reaction to it. It was as though it was reaching out to me. It made me feel a bit sick."

"Fate works in strange ways." Josh interrupted softly. "Your connection with this game, 'Duel Monsters' was it? It could have allowed you a measure of foreshadowing in a sense, trying to warn you."

"Yes." Yami agreed. "If only I had heeded that warning.

"When I came back to the place I had left Yugi, he was not there. I tried not to panic at first, but it's scary not knowing where a loved one is. After a second the sick feeling returned, more strongly this time, and I began to see spots flashing before my eyes. After that I blacked out." The Sages looked at each other. Yami continued.

"When I came to, something was very different. I didn't know it at the time, but while I thought I was in control of Yugi's body it turned out that somehow my previous body had been copied or resurrected. For the first time I could see and hear and touch things with my own senses. I could experience the world on my own, and it was terrible. The price was too high." He sighed heavily and stared at his hands, his eyes looking faraway again.

"Our friends found me lying in the mud and mistook me for Yugi. I don't blame them, I was confused too. We sat like that for a moment before... before..."

Yami's stoic voice wavered subtly, and the sound of his pain made their hearts twinge a little as well. His hands began to tremble.

"He screamed. I knew it was him, for the sound cut through me like a knife. I would know his voice anywhere. He called and I answered as fast as I could, but I was still so lost and so confused... I didn't make it in time. By the time I found Yugi it was too late. I tried to apologize for leaving him alone but..." He sighed, a resigning sigh. "It was too late. _I_ was too late."

Tears began falling freely from his face, each one reflecting the pain of a tortured soul. He didn't even bother trying to hide them. All round the table there were barely contained sighs of grief, for Yami's stirring tale had shaken even Josh to the brink of tears.

"I don't know what happened after that. Something within me, something buried and long forgotten, finally snapped. It was as though fire was burning through me, more anger and rage, but it was so different from the anger I felt when I was protecting someone. This anger was _evil_, it made me want to hurt things. Innocent things. Without him, I don't know how long I have..."

James leaned forward then, and hesitantly placed his warm hands on top of Yami's tightly clenched fists, holding his tortured gaze within his own compassionate eyes until they softened a touch.

"Your pain is great and your heart is weary. We understand now what you have been through, and though we have only known each other a short while I think my brothers would agree when I say that your pain becomes our own in turn." Jacob and Josh nodded their agreement in silence.

"I feel like I have known you for a long time." James murmured, thinking to himself. "Perhaps we knew each other in a past life, another time, for destiny often works in such mysterious ways. Thus, in an offer of friendship that could very well have been in existence for eons, we will help you. But you have to promise in return for this knowledge that you will fight as hard as you can against this darkness that plagues you. True that not all of it is natural, but you are not helping yourself by letting down your defenses more. You need to fight hard, not only for you, but for Yugi as well."

Yami's tearful eyes widened. "Do you mean that?" He asked, hardly daring to hope. "There is still hope?"

"Yes." Jacob answered gravely. "But in order for us to be any help to you at all, you need to be willing to put aside your inner demons and help yourself as well."

Yami stood up solemnly, nodding to each of them in turn and wiping the rest of his tears away. "I promise. For Yugi's sake, I swear."

XxxxxxxxxX

"Alright." James sighed, rubbing his eyes. "So what do we know?"

They had left Yami in the library for a minute to speak amongst themselves. Jacob pulled up a chair and plunked himself down with a huff; Josh remained standing.

"We know that he's a Pharaoh that lived five-thousand years ago. And that he's still alive today because he found some way to preserve his soul in an inanimate object." Jacob began.

"Only a short time ago a young man named Yugi Motou reassembled that ancient item and released his spirit." Josh added. "And since that day his fate had become intertwined with that of the rest of the world." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "With the return of the Pharaoh came the return of the Shadow Games, which must be those very same events that Argeth hates so much."

"Yes, he and the youth who's body he shares have quite the adventure going." James said softly. "My brothers, it seems that they have done much for the good of this world. But now, with one of them missing, the other is slowly losing himself as well."

"But it makes no sense." Josh folded his arms. "Losing a friend is no reason for you to close in on yourself and forsake your own life."

"Yeah, but Josh," Jacob said softly, "Yugi is much more than a friend to him. Imagine for a second that one of us was in his shoes. Would that change your opinion? Knowing that it could have just as easily been one of us that was taken away?"

Josh's stance wavered. "Well... I suppose. When Yami spoke of his other half it was with the same air of brotherly compassion that exists here. But it's still no excuse, he needs to learn to move on and accept the fact that he's gone, and there's nothing he can do about it. He needs to see past the moment and look ahead, or he will be doomed to walk in endless circles of remembrance."

"Agreed." James nodded. "It seems that he was clinging to the dagger as a way of assuring himself that Yugi's killer would be destroyed. Perhaps he is hoping that by killing the killer, he can somehow find a way to bring Yugi back. But that kind of thinking runs against his natural perception of right and wrong, and that is where his inner conflict starts. He knows, whether he's willing to admit to it or not, that Yugi would not want to come back if it meant the death of another. Even the death of his murderer.

"So we need to give Yami back the reason to keep his inner light. Somehow, we need to show him that Yugi can still be with him, even when he is not." He concluded.

They all spent a moment in quiet reflection, hoping that they would be able to help Yami. For they all sensed that if they could not, the world would be doomed.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Yami breezed through the books slowly, being careful not to touch any of the ancient looking ones for fear they would crumble to dust beneath his fingers. A few titles stood out to him, but he only flipped through the pages briefly before setting them back down again. He felt almost agitated as he sifted through the calming atmosphere, as though he was supposed to be searching for something and yet had no idea what it was.

Eventually, as he made his way farther to the back of the long hall, he noticed that the books on the shelves were replaced by scrolls. Yellowed and rotting pieces of parchment sat in piles of thick dust; it looked as though this section had not been touched in a long time. The smell of so many dusty relics brought a flash of familiarity to him, and he wondered if it was linked somehow to his ancient past. There was a good chance that he had been in a library just like this in his youth.

The thought piqued his curiosity, and he scanned the labels more carefully now, searching for any ancient Egyptian scrolls. Many minutes passed in the hushed silence, and still no sign of any of his heritage.

_I suppose I should not have expected to find anything. _He thought. _Details about Egypt are always hard to come by for some reason._

He was about to turn back and head to the front again when a strange sort of tugging sensation pulled at him. He looked around again, confused. There was no one there.

Alert now, he slipped one foot behind the other and toughened his stance. He waited breathlessly for the sensation to return, wondering what it was trying to do. It came again, an almost feathery touch that seemed to be pulling on his hand. He looked down and watched in wonder as his hand was raised of its own accord, moving out in front of him like someone was trying very hard to pull him along.

Then it dropped, and the sensation faded. He took a few cautious steps toward the direction he had been pulled in, and he sensed a deep-rooted approval coursing through the air. It was the strangest feeling, as though there was someone trying to guide him.

He found it hard to concentrate with his eyes wide open, for there was too much to see. So he closed them lightly and let himself relax, following the subconscious calls. He could sense that he was being led even farther into the library than he had thought possible, there must have been another route he had not seen before that he was taking now.

Scarcely a second later and the feeling vanished again, and this time he sensed it wouldn't be coming back. He opened his eyes and saw a single, cracked piece of paper lying on an abandoned table. He slipped over silently, apprehension making his heart beat a little faster though he did not know why.

The ink was grayed and faded completely in some places, but he could make out the Egyptian text well enough.

_It was a dark day for our people__,_the passage began. _The palace guards were found lying dead around the prince's room, their forms completely drained of blood. When I went inside to discern if he was still alive__, I found blood covering nearly everything. It was obvious that there had been quite a struggle, yet when I called the guards to retrieve the body, it was nowhere to be found. _

_ I ordered every able bodied soldier to search__ every inch of the city__, and to not come back until they had found the prince. But much time passed, and the almighty Ra did not show his face in the skies for many days. I expected to have heard __of some news from the people that they had seen him, but no such news was ever uttered, and so I am forced to assume the worst._

_ The Prince of Egypt is dead._

Yami held the tiny scrap of paper in his shaking fingers, everything he had ever believed in spinning out of control.

"This doesn't make any sense!"He said aloud, as if by doing so he could force the pressing silence away from him. "I _was _the prince! What does this mean? Did I really die? Or was I taken by force?" Then a more pressing thought occured to him. "Did I ever make it back?"

Suddlenly feeling weak, he leaned heavily against the bookshelf, in turn knocking a few books from their perch. He seemed not to notice as they thumped to the floor, the binding of a particularly old-looking book coming loose. Running a hand through his hair, he forced himself free of his reverie and bent to pick them up. Then a strange inner voice, a cold and heartless whisper, danced across his thoughts. It kept repeating those six words over and over again, until he no longer could refuse their truths:

The Prince of Egypt is dead.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Josh perked up a little bit, looking as though he was listening for something.

"You're not spying on him are you?" Jacob asked in an accusatory tone.

Josh smirked. "Well, spying on someone generally implies that you're watching them with your eyes. I am simply looking with my thoughts."

Jacob shrugged, never one to argue with a loophole. "So what's he doing?"

Josh's face screwed up in concentration. "I can't see anything, his eyes are closed. It seems he's moving despite of that, but I can't tell where he is."

James looked up. "Still in the library, I hope."

Josh nodded absently. "Yes, but I can't see..." He paused suddenly. "Hey! He's in the restricted section! He's looking at that paper that we salvaged from the ruins."

James sucked in a sharp breath. In light of the recent events that had been happening lately, none of them had considered the old script. Now, with all they had learned, the scroll took on a new inflection.

"The final verdict passed by the Pharaoh's personal scribe. I had nearly forgotten..." James whispered.

"What?" Jacob asked, confused.

"Yes." Josh agreed. "The king had given up hope of ever seeing him again."

"Who?" Jacob tried to interrupt, but the others were too wrapped up in their thoughts to pay his questions any heed.

"But Yami's memories do not extend back to his days in the Palace, so he could not have known..."

Jacob sighed impatiently and raised his hand with an annoyed expression on his face. "Permission to speak?" He huffed with as much mock politeness as he could muster. Josh grinned deviously.

"Oh, of course, why didn't you say so?" He teased. Jacob resisted the urge to retort with difficulty.

"Why am I always the last one to know what's going on?" He asked again instead, clearly annoyed. "What on earth are you guys talking about?"

"A tale for another time, Brother." James murmured soothingly. "It is unimportant for now. All we need worry about is making sure that Yami gains the sufficient strength he needs to go up against the man or beast that has taken his partner away from him."

"Still, if he's left to brood on this, it could turn ugly. We don't want him getting any false impressions into his head." Josh pointed out.

"True." James agreed. "Very well then, Eternal Sage. Help him forget what he had just seen until the time is right."

Josh nodded and started to chant softly.

"Perhaps when this whole mess is blown over I will be able to explain this to you." James said, trying to placate Jacob. "It's simply too long a tale to be recounted now."

Jacob sighed but nodded his ascent. When the others' backs were to him he mumbled under his breath, "I'll hold you to that James. That's one story I intend to have told in full."

_**A/N: Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I had to end it here. I can at least promise that the next one will be longer. Thanks for reading! **_


	10. Trials of Heart, Mind and Soul

_**Author's Note: Marik = Dark Marik and Malik = Good Marik. Dreamer of Legends used the English duel in this one.**_

The Trinity Sage stood with their hands tucked neatly into the sleeves of their robes, waiting for him. An air of serenity surrounded their white forms, and yet there was a subtle and well-controlled power that lurked within them too. As soon as he stepped before them, James spoke.

"We have decided upon a course of action." He began solemnly, making sure the importance of the event was fully understood. "The blade of separation that you wield belongs to the great god of Chaos himself. We cannot know how he has managed to find a way back into this world, though we suspect that he is working through Yugi's killer. Because of your great and mysterious powers, my Pharaoh, we would guess that his goal would be to weaken you so that he may take them himself."

Yami nodded, his face hard and his eyes sorrowful. "A tale I am not at all unfamiliar with." He said bitterly. "These powers that I know nothing of continue to harm those I have come to call my friends." He held up one hand before his eyes, staring at it as though it was responsible.

James nodded. "And so we have decided to turn the tables on him. Chaos will die at the end of his own wicked knife."

Yami gasped, shocked, as James carefully pressed the dagger into his hands as he explained himself.

"If Chaos were to gain control of your powers, then it would be a small and easy matter to take control of the rest of the world. And so he must be stopped, and the only way to defeat him is with this."

Josh spoke next. "We are aware of the great sacrifice you made to save mankind. More than once, it seems, if the tale of your exploits in Battle City holds true. But we also know that you carry a great deal of darkness in your heart, evil that has come to life through your own inability to trust yourself. And because of that, we cannot be sure that the darkness from which the blade had been born will not take control of you again. You said that when you found Yugi for the first time, a great and buried anger swelled up within you, correct?"

Yami nodded and looked down, a little ashamed.

"It was the dagger that you wield that made you feel that way. It took a small piece of self-loathing that it found in your heart and amplified it, turning it into rage and hatred for other people. The longer you hold onto that wicked knife the more power it could exert over you, until you have no choice but to serve Chaos. It will be involuntary."

Yami's eyes snapped back up, horror in his voice. "Do you mean to say that I might be _forced _to abandon the side of good? That I might turn myself over to the darkness by trying to save Yugi?"

Jacob was the one to answer, for Josh could not find any for him.

"It's a very real danger, and one that you must be fully aware of. If you are to have any chance of rescuing Yugi at all, then you need to be certain that you can control the dagger."

"What do I have to do?" Yami whispered anxiously. He would do whatever it took.

"Let us delve into your memories in order to see what it is that haunts you so." James said softly. "We believe that the darkness must have spawned from somewhere in your past, and we'll need to see where it stems from in order to help you properly."

Yami sucked in a small breath. He knew exactly where in his memories that they would find the source of his inner conflict, for the memory still tore at him to this day. He nodded slowly, resigned to the decision. If re-living that terrible moment was going to help him get closer to Yugi... then so be it.

As soon as Yami was ready, the Trinity Sage reached out to one another. Their movements were graceful and easy, as though they had done this a thousand times before. They clasped wrists and began to hum softly.

Yami could feel their concentration swelling with every passing second, growing into an almost tangible thing. Something brushed against his mind, a foreign and alien consciousness, and he jerked instinctively away from it.

_Relax. _He heard a voice whisper, though no words were spoken. _Let us help you._

Yami forced himself to lower the barriers around his mind, slowly letting their combined thoughts enter his inner sanctum. He closed his eyes and felt everything shift, and for the first time in his life he experienced three other minds resting within his own. It was such an unnerving feeling that he could not fight it, and so he let them continue. Soon enough he felt his own conscious thoughts grow smaller and smaller, until it seemed he was no more than a spectator to the events going on within his own mind. He could not form any rational or coherent thoughts of his own, and so he simply watched.

After they were fully immersed within him they raised their voices in a rising chant.

"_O great and mighty surveyor of balance and unity, hear us! Show unto these humble servants of peace what it is that so torments this man! Help us to fix the damage that has been wrought by Chaos, thy black and twisted enemy!"_

At once, a thousand spinning pictures began twisting around in the dome that represented Yami's mind. A whirlwind of dialogue and images surrounded them, and each man knew that one of these memories would hold part of the key to unlocking Yami's inner light.

They split up and began combing through the images, searching for areas where the pain was concentrated the most. Jacob found the first.

It was not a long memory, only a small span of time in which many confused and confusing emotions were being played at once. Tension of opposites; two sides battling for control. As he reached out and twined the silky strand of thought between his fingers, he closed his eyes and let himself both view and feel the scene through Yami.

_I stand facing a monstrous three-headed beast, and yet there is no fear piercing my heart. I __am__ strong, confident that my faith will allow me to overcome even this great behemoth. My army stands before me readily, the lone, brave soldier with many, many friends. _

Jacob felt a strong surge of pride and determination burn through his veins.

_ The arrogance and anger that blinds my opponent is the poison tipping my golden arrow. That weapon shoots straight into the heart of his creature, and even as we watch it begins to deteriorate._

_ His greatest offensive monster is dissolving into a great oozing mass, no longer capable of issuing the same level of destruction as before. To me, this duel is already finished._

Then there was calm patience within him, the same deadly calm with which a hunter waits for its prey to draw it's final breath. This battle is over.

_Kaiba seems to not even register what is going on. He stares at his dragon like he cannot accept what he is seeing. Like if he could just hold to a stubborn refusal to believe it was real, then he could change the situation. His eyes look far away, drinking in some unknown vision that is like poison to his soul. His eyes are empty save for the cold and merciless sorrow of failure._

For an instant, there was a flicker of sorrow within his own heart as well, inspired by a faraway and sleeping consciousness. He understood that it was Yugi's emotion that had crossed through, for Yugi understood that Kaiba was only trying to save his brother. Yugi knew well the pain of losing a loved one, and so he was beginning to wonder if he should be so selfish in striving to rescue his grandfather.

_'Your heart is just, but there is no logic behind this line of thinking.' _ _I tell him. 'Kaiba challenged _us_, and we have no obligation to let him win. If he wanted so badly to save his brother, he should have fought harder.'_

Yami did not see these words as cold or heartless, they are simply true. It was not his fault that Kaiba had brought this disaster upon himself, he was merely acting as the opposition, the test. And Kaiba had failed. Still, there was the calm acceptance.

But, strangely, he could feel his words cutting into the softer heart of his partner, as though Yugi was convinced that they should be helping, not hindering. His viewpoint was puzzling, but Yami found little time to ponder it in light of Kaiba's next desperate action.

_Kaiba has seemingly regained himself, for the determined spark has returned to his eyes. But it wavers unsteadily, on the brink of some unknown ledge. He begins to back away, mumbling something about 'forcing my hand'. I watch with curiosity that quickly turns to alarm as he backs himself right up to the edge of the battlement, standing on one of the stones that line the rim. I know that a fair drop waits just behind him, likely with sharp rocks rising up from the foaming sea like the teeth of some huge monster._

_ He tells me that failure is not an option for him. He is going to rescue his brother... or die trying. Then he offers me a choice, in no uncertain terms. Surrender, and let my grandfather be lost, or strike the final blow, and doom him to a death of his own choosing._

There was no choice to this at all. Kaiba had chosen his own fate, and by all appearances was willing to pay the consequences for his failure. Yami knew that they could not be blamed for finishing the duel now, for Kaiba had made his decision. But still, something in his words made him pause. Another feeling whispered across his soul, one that was quite opposite from the sympathy that Yugi had felt. This feeling was anger. He was angry with Kaiba for his actions, although if he was being honest, even he did not quite fully know why.

But the motive mattered little now, for the anger was growing steadily. It tore free of his heart and grew larger, feeding off of forbidden memories that even Yami himself did not have access too. Something somewhere in his past there must have been an incident that was acting as the fuel for this fire, some confrontation that was being reborn in this time.

_I have no choice. I am simply to finish the duel. That is my duty, my fate. Kaiba has failed, and so his fate is out of my hands. My only job now is to finish the game._

_ Yugi's thoughts again enter mine, as a plea for me to stop. His voice is shaky and soft, almost like he is scared of going through with this. He begs again, there must be another way to save __G__randpa without hurting Kaiba. I tell him there is not, and I leave it at that, expecting him to accept that fact._

_ But as I order the attack, the final play that would have (in his eyes) coated his hands with the blood of an innocent, he reacts. With a surge of a heretofore unknown level of inner strength, he takes control. I find myself suddenly thrust back from his body. Not in a violent manner, for his aim is not to injure me, simply to stop me from injuring someone else. He binds me with his will, making sure I cannot wrestle control away from him again. I am so shocked at his actions that I do not react._

Confusion and surprise made their way steadily through the memory, bringing guilt and shock along as well. Jacob finally managed to extract himself from the scene to analyze what it meant.

Yami had realized on that day so long ago, that despite the fact that it cost him the duel, Yugi would have gladly paid that price and more to make sure that no one was hurt. His take on things had puzzled Yami immensely, and it had taken them a long while to come to any form of agreeance or understanding between one another.

Jacob pressed lightly on the memory once more and then let it go.

_Why do you still carry sorrow in your heart from this time? _He asked softly. His answer came in the form of more feeling than actual spoken thought, for Yami's consciousness was not focused on any one thing. Still, Jacob was able to decipher the meaning well enough.

_I was wrong. _Yami whispered. _I know now that he was right, Kaiba was innocent and should not have had to suffer for his actions. I was almost willing to sacrifice him in order to force him to accept his failure, a premature end to his destiny..._

Jacob bit his lip, a little startled at the pain resonating from a wound that they all assumed had healed.

_But did you not apologize for your actions? _He said. _And were you not forgiven?_

Yami paused, unsure where this line of logic was leading. _Yes... _He said hesitantly.

_So why can you not put this matter from your heart? _Jacob pressed. _Surely you can see that no one else still begrudges you your choice. _

Yami's response was slow to come. _Even so, I am still to blame. I almost destroyed an innocent life in order to fulfill a purpose in my own. Such action is inexcusable._

Jacob's own response was harder, and as near to the mark as he could get it.

_Alright, enough pity. _He said. _It__'__s good that you can accept responsibility for your mistake. That's part of life. But you have to realize that everyone else makes mistakes too, and they won't cling to them longer than they have too. You make a mistake, and take it with you just long enough to be sure you have learned your lesson. Then you let it go and get on with your life._

Yami seemed a little shocked. _But I..._

_ No buts. _Jacob commanded sternly, and then his tone softened. _Look. Yugi and Kaiba both have likely forgotten the incident between you two, because it was such a small part of their lives. Why carry around the extra weight of guilt when it is only hindering your path?_

The walls around Yami's heart started to crack a little. _Well..._

_ And besides, how are you going to be any help to other people of you can't even come to terms with your own problems? Just lay them all out in front of you and say: 'Alright, yes, I made that mistake. Now I'll learn from it and try not to make the same one twice'._

He could sense that his words had registered on some profound level, and he was glad when he felt a real flutter of joy begin to burn in Yami again.

_Thank you._ He whispered, and Jacob only smiled.

The memory came floating back then, but something subtle had changed within it. The ribbon swirled more easily now, as if it understood that it had been given some closure. After a second it hardened, and shaped itself into a semblance of a slender key. Jacob grasped at it eagerly, nearly calling out in his excitement. The first milestone had been passed with flying colors.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Josh moved methodically through the tangle of pictures and sounds easily, for he was well versed in the ways of mental navigation and he made speedy progress. Soon enough he had attuned himself enough to Yami's mind to begin searching effectively for yet more poison that was stunting his emotional growth and control. He breezed gently across the surface of his mind, finding many memories both painful and comforting, but in truth none of them seemed potent enough to steer his inner conflicts any one way.

Soon enough however, he stumbled across one in particular that pulsed with a darker edge of pain than the others.

Unlike Jacob, who used his powers to both see and feel the memory in order to work through it, Josh took a slightly different approach. When he took hold of a fragment of the past he focused more on both the spoken word and the hidden thoughts in the situation.

Forcing himself to breathe slowly, he took hold of his ribbon.

"Meet my next victim!" Screamed a voice that was laced with insanity. Then there was a collective gasp as both Yugi and Yami were suddenly being pulled away from each other.

_What's going on? _ Yugi thought, feeling like he was spinning out of control. And then he opened his eyes and understood. Marik had somehow torn him out of his own body, and now held him chained in the air above Yami.

Yami's thoughts were full of fear and anxiety. _No! Not Yugi! He never did anything to you!_

"Do you understand what's at stake now?" Marik snarled at him. "Lose the duel, and Yugi goes to the Shadow Realm!"

"Marik!" He roared, his voice resonating with deep anger. "This is between you and me, so leave him alone!"

Marik merely laughed, a low, rumbling, and unearthly sound. "That's not true." He sneered. "You're forgetting my weaker half. He's involved in this conflict as well." He jerked his thumb over his own shoulder, where an unconscious and obviously weak Malik hung limp.

"Now no matter who wins, an innocent soul will be sacrificed to the darkness. What are you to do Pharaoh? Keep tight to your own partner, or break your promise to Ishizu and destroy her brother?" Marik laughed again, obviously delighting in inflicting torment. "For if I lose, the shadows will take him."

"No, you can't!" Yami protested, outraged.

"I just did." Marik retorted. "Now let the duel begin!"

Yugi's mind was firm set. _We cannot let Marik's good side be consumed!_

_I know, _Yami agreed. _But what can we do? We must not lose, or the whole world will suffer._

_I'm not sure. There must be some way, we'll think of something!_

While they were speaking, Marik took advantage of his distraction to start his play.

"I summon my 'Vampiric Leech'!" He yelled, sending his monster shooting forward. Yami's attention snapped back to the matter at hand just in time to see several sickly tentacles streaking for him.

"No!" He gasped in shock, just before they struck him. He was not too badly injured, for the leech only had a small amount of attack points. And after the initial shock wore off, he was unimpressed with the cheap shot Marik had taken. But then...

Yugi suddenly cried out in pain and Yami's eyes shot up to him with alarm. For a second, all he could see was Yugi's tortured expression, and it filled his heart with agony. And then he spotted the source. Yugi's right leg was disappearing.

"Yugi!" The scream tore from his lips. He glared back at Marik with death burning in his eyes. "What have you done, Marik?"

Marik's face twisted in glee. "When you lose life points, your friend loses a piece of himself to the darkness." He cackled again at the sheer hatred written all over Yami's face.

"That's madness." Yami growled low.

"That's ingenious." Marik shot back, the smile vanishing in the blink of an eye. Yet another indication of just how unstable he had become. Yugi's safety was threatened immensely by this psycho, and that thought overruled all others.

"I won't duel." He spat.

"You... have... to." Yugi gasped through clenched teeth, his face contorted with pain.

"He's right, Pharaoh." Marik agreed. "You must duel. We're in my world now, remember, and I can banish little Yugi any time I wish!"

"You'll pay for what you have done!" Yami roared again, horrified at the situation they had been forced into.

"We can do this!" Yugi shouted down to him. His voice was stronger now, though he was ashen faced and his eyes shone dully. "Ever since you and I first met, we've faced everything together as a team! This shadow game is no different!"

His words inspired new confidence in Yami. If Yugi was willing to go through this, if he found the courage to stand against the pain, then Yami could never do any less.

"You're right." He said softly, touched by his partner's words.

"I'm still right here next to you, and we can defeat Marik together! He'll never win this!"

"Yes, the lives of many depend on our victory; we cannot let them down!" Yami took a moment to steady his nerve.

_This is the most important duel we've ever fought. If Marik were to prevail, he would gain all three Egyptian God cards, along with the key to infinite power. And four innocent souls would be forever lost to the darkness._

His eyes snapped open, their violet depths promising nothing short of victory. _I am now certain that the reason Yugi and I were brought together was so we could win this one duel. _His eyes flashed, twin points shining like fire. _Failure is not an option!_

As the duel raged on, they began to piece together Marik's strategy. He first sent Ra to the graveyard in order to use 'Monster Reborn' to bring him back, and many of the cards in his deck revolved around returning 'Monster Reborn' to be used again. Their only chance was to summon 'Slifer the Sky Dragon', but with the duel progressing as it was, that task seemed to be nearly impossible.

Yami summoned 'Queen's Knight' to destroy the leech, but Marik turned right around and summoned a monster to beat back his knight. Yugi's right arm began dissolving.

"Are you alright?" Yami called worriedly up at him. And Yugi, sweat beading on his skin and his breath coming in quick gasps, nevertheless mumbled stoically.

"I'll be fine, just win this duel!"

Marik set two more cards face-down, more for him to worry about. Yami gritted his teeth in frustration.

"My move." Yami drew his card just as Marik activated one of his traps. 'Left Arm Offering' allowed Marik to grab a magic card out of his deck in exchange for discarding all of the cards in his hand. Marik stroked the edge of 'Monster Reborn' lovingly, already savoring his victory.

Thinking quickly, Yami played a card of his own. "Not so fast! I activate 'Exchange'!"

Marik scowled deeply, enraged at having his triumph stolen away. Yami gingerly accepted the card and Marik took 'De-Fusion' from his own hand as they retreated back to their respective corners.

Yami could barely contain a sigh of relief as he looked at the card. They had escaped disaster by a hair's breadth... this time.

But now he had a plan. He used 'Monster Reborn' to bring back his 'Queen's Knight', summoning 'King's Knight' as he did so. Once those two were on the field, he summoned 'Jack's Knight'. Now he had three monsters to Marik's one, and he could deal some serious damage to him should he choose to attack. But there were those two face-down cards, and that alone forced him to pause and consider his move. It was too risky to go ahead with his attack, and so he ended his turn.

Marik seemed pleased. "Well, has the mighty Pharaoh finally realized that there's no way he can win? Well, allow me to assist you!"

Yami watched, puzzled, as Marik activated 'Card of Sanctity'. "Just consider that a gift." He rasped.

Yami drew his four cards and felt a small surge of joy when he saw that he had drawn Slifer.

"I sacrifice my 'King's Knight', my 'Queen's Knight', and my 'Jack's Knight' in order to summon 'Slifer, the Sky Dragon'!" He yelled, holding the card high and proud. A huge bolt of ruby colored lightning shot out of the clouds and struck the ground behind him, heralding the great dragon's approach. Slifer uncoiled his huge length and roared, leering over Marik menacingly and growling. Yami wasted no time.

"Go Slifer, attack with 'Thunder-force Blast'!"

Marik laughed, thrilled at finally being able to put his strategy into play. "I activate 'Dark Spell Regeneration'!"

"On no..." Yami murmured, he knew what that meant. Now Marik could bring back the 'Monster Reborn' that Yami had used earlier. He looked at Yugi, and Yugi looked at him, and they both nodded, their faces set in resigned acceptance. This was unavoidable.

They watched in silent horror as Ra rose from the graveyard in all of his fiery glory. "Now, I sacrifice one thousand life points in order to transform the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' into his unstoppable Phoenix mode!"

As Ra went up in a furious blaze of rage and fire, Yami looked up at Yugi again and his face spoke a thousand words that he saw clearly.

_I'm sorry Yugi._

Yugi smiled a tiny bit. _Don't be, we're in this together._

_Thank you. _Yami mumbled softly, and he reached up to gently cup Yugi's face in his hands. _I promise I'll never let you slip away. _

They stood like that as the first wisps of hot fire licked their way up the stadium towards them. And then Ra attacked, and their friends watched in horror as they were consumed by the flames. Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi and held him tight as the wrath of Ra descended upon them, and they stood screaming in pain of the searing heat. When the attack ended finally, which seemed like eons later to the two friends, Yami gasped and straightened, looking up at Yugi through bleary eyes.

_Yugi, please tell me you're alright._

Yugi was panting heavily, but he found his breath shortly and responded.

_Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You need to concentrate on defeating Marik, 'cause if he wins the entire world will suffer. _Yami watched his lips curve up in a gentle, brave smile. _My pain is a small price to pay for their safety._

Josh withdrew then, for too much pain was pulsing through the memory, and he feared he would not stand too much longer against it. Yami's whole consciousness was shuddering under the weight of the all-too-real vision, and his sorrow echoed all around.

_So much pain... And I am the only one to blame. How I wish things could have been different..._

Josh took a second to regain control over his own rapidly beating heart; Marik's face was still grinning behind his eyes. He shuddered.

_I understand. _He mumbled softly. _There is much pain from this time as well, more poison that will cloud your mind in days to come. _He stood softly and began to move, searching for the ending of this horrible duel. What Yami needed most right now was closure, a happy ending to the pain. After a second he found it, buried beneath yet more of the actual duel, he noted dryly. He plucked the strand out of the mess of negativity and held it high, so it could send it's warm rays across the dome.

_"Noooo!" Marik roared, one final protest before he was swallowed up by the darkness. His good side stood trembling on the stadium, breathing hard but triumphant._

_ "It's finally over, my Pharaoh." He breathed, exhausted from his inner struggle._

_ "Yes." Yami agreed, smiling. "And the darkness has lifted from your heart."_

_ Yugi's form suddenly sparked with a great burst of light, and he dropped from his perch, whole once again._

_ "We did it! We won the duel!" He cheered, running over to his partner. _

_ "You're safe now." Yami sighed softly, gathering him up and holding him close. "You're safe."_

_ Do you see now? _Josh asked the darkness that was Yami's consciousness. _Your partner is safe, the victory yours, and the whole world was spared. Because of your bravery and faith, you were able to stand against the flood of evil. I see no blame to be placed here._

Yami seemed as though he was about to protest, but Josh cut him short. _I know why you cling to these memories so. _He whispered. _You hold on to them like a shield, securing yourself in the solidity of wrong doing. By holding tight to these thoughts of hatred and guilt, which are constants in a shifting world, you prevent your inner self from changing too much at once. But the problem is, you are clinging to the wrong things._ _Take the example that Marik has shown you, and let the darkness lift from your heart and mind. If you truly want to be strong, fill your heart with light and love, those same qualities that Yugi has been working to bring to you._

_ But how can I? _Yami protested. _With Yugi gone from me..._

_ Open your eyes. _Josh scolded sternly, sending surprise coursing through Yami. _From what I have gathered, one of the most important things that Yugi has ever taught to you is that your light and your spirit live on in the hearts of those who love you. Do not forsake those valuable lessons in the face of your lust for vengeance. For if you do, then you will gain your revenge, but lose your heart for doing so. And then, you shall be corrupt._

Yami pondered his words for a moment, honestly trying to reconcile himself with them. After a moment he murmured softly.

_Of course... _And he laughed, a small and degrading chuckle. _How ironic that I have to have the lessons that should be ingrained into my heart re-taught to me by people I hardly know._

Josh allowed himself a little smile. _Even the mightiest of kings sometimes needs a reminder of who he is. There is a person under the crown you know._

_ I do. _Yami laughed again, and this time the sound was lighter, more carefree. Another light shone, and a key fragment settled in Josh's outstretched palm.

Yami's mind was at peace, too, and over half of his inner harmony had been restored. Only one more area of darkness remained.

"Good luck, James." Josh murmured, knowing the challenge that was before him.

James stood in the center of Yami's soul, breathing deeply and letting the soft sounds of the soul caress him. He concentrated on simply letting the memory he was searching for come to him, for he did not want to expend the energy he needed to search for it. James' tactics too, were separate from that of his brothers. He immersed himself fully within the moment, seeing, feeling, living through them. He put himself as far as he could into the other's shoes, living as they lived; suffering as they suffered. He waited with patience as the fragments of thought and feeling gathered, slowly converging into one great, moving picture. Loud voices thundered out from the darkness, screaming in anger.

_ "What have you done...?"_

_ "Now the Orichalcos reveals... you're evil, Pharaoh..."_

_ "...now Yugi is gone..."_

_ "It's all your fault..."_

A sharp tug pulled at him, and James was suddenly sucked into the memory itself. Yami tried to resist, for the pain was great, but he could not fight it. All he could do was watch in shame and sorrow as the greatest mistake of his life was replayed before his eyes.

"Now I activate the 'Seal of Orichalcos'!" Yami cried, slamming the card into its slot.

_Pain. Tearing agony. Disbelief. Raging anger._ James grimaced under the weight of twin emotions on the opposite ends of the spectrum pounding with equal intensity.

Yami screamed, a soul-tearing cry that rang with the echo of all-consuming evil.

_Darkness. Hardening heart. Losing __the__ soul._

Yugi was thrust away by the walls of the Orichalcos, pushed into a prison of Yami's own making.

_Shock. Stubborn refusal to believe. Glaring truth. _

Yugi felt no resentment towards his partner for his actions, only a deepening sorrow. He knew that Yami was going to face the consequences for his actions sooner or later, and he knew that the experience would be painful. Tears ran down his face in silent agony, for he could see no way for him to be of any help, trapped as he was.

"Noooo!" Yami screamed, unable to come to grips with what was happening.

_Sorrow. More anger. Numbing cold. And then, from somewhere far away it seemed, there was a slow__ly__ growing determination that was fueled by love and spearheaded with an almost__ burning__ need to protect the other soul. _

"With all the power of the Millennium Puzzle, I break the Seal!"

_Single-minded intensity. Willpower, in order to push through the ring that had encompassed his partner. And then, nothing but peace._

"It only needs one of us, so I'm letting the Seal take me instead." Yugi grasped one of Yami's nerveless hands with a gentle touch. "I still trust you, Yami."

_Pain. Tearing agony... Love. _

James' heart jolted with a rush of sympathetic pain, and his eyes started to sparkle with the tears of the two brothers.

"No, Yugi!"

_More p__ain_.

James gasped and let go of the memory, unable to stand against such intense agony. James shuddered and his knees gave out under him, and he was falling slowly...

"James!" Jacob and Josh rushed forward to catch him before hit the ground.

James' face was pale, but he cracked his eyes open and winked.

"Wow, that hurt."

Josh looked around, but Yami's consciousness was nowhere to be found. He must have buried himself into a far corner of his mind in order to escape the pain, and he was oblivious to anything they might have said or done at the moment.

"So now we know." Jacob mumbled. "It was this duel that spawned his doubts."

"Yes." Said a new voice, one that Josh recognized. The little child that had saved him before stepped out from the memory. "This is where Big Brother finds his self-hatred."

He was holding the little box that Jacob had discovered earlier, the one within Yami's heart. It was still locked tight, and the child clutched at it as though he wished to keep its contents inside.

"So you were the one that locked away the light." Jacob said softly. "But why? Can't you see that it's only harming him? Yami needs that love to stay with him, or else he will never be able to stand against the darkness."

The young boy sniffed quietly. "I know." He said softly, in an anguished tone of voice. "I know Big Brother needs this. He can't stay away from the dark without it. But I've seen what that awful blade you gave him can do, it was what started the fire in Little Brother's room. He cannot let the love in his heart loose, or else the darkness will crush it."

"Have faith in the light." James whispered gently as he struggled to stand. "His heart is stronger than you know."

The child hesitated for a split second, looking at the three of them with caution.

"Trust me." James implored once more, and then the boy conceded. He held up a tiny fist, with the last fragment of the key clutched in his grasp.

James took it gently, and placed it with the other two fragments. A small light shone, and a slender golden key rested where the broken pieces once had been. The child held up the little box, and James gingerly slid the key into the lock and clicked it into place. As the lock rusted and crumbled he reached out and gently pried it open, feeling the warmth wash out from it almost immediately. A little figure jumped out of the box, waving its hands and bouncing around in joy at its freedom.

Kuriboh.

Though Yami could not know what was happening in the depths of his own mind, he sensed something within him shifting. Something long absent and warm rushed out from his center, and for a moment he felt as though he was whole once more. Suddenly, the entire inside of his soul glowed with a bright light, and the shadows that were clouding him shrieked and vanished to hide in dark corners.

James sensed the change too, and then it was his turn to offer words of advice, as his brothers had done before. He did not expect an answer to his words, for Yami was far away at the moment, but he spoke anyway, confident that the strength of his thoughts would be there when he needed it.

_Peace, my friend. Let your heart take comfort in the knowledge that you are never and will never be alone. Yugi is still with you, whether or not you believe it, I ask only this. Look inside your heart, and tell me if you honestly cannot feel the love your friends have for you still there._

A single tear trickled down Yami's face.

The tiny puffball snuggled up to the little Yami lookalike, and after a second the child threw his arms around Kuriboh and hugged back.

"Be careful, okay?" He whispered, trying to hold back his tears.

Josh watched the exchange curiously. "You are more than just a fragment of Big Brother's mind," he stated bluntly, "Aren't you?"

The child looked up at him wearily. "Yes, you are right. I'm not really a part of Big Brother at all. I came here a long time ago, before Big Brother lost his memories. I can only live here so long as he doesn't know I'm here, because I think he'd be mad at me if he knew. I don't want to be forgotten, so I stay in the shadows and try not to get taken away by the Great Darkness. Kuriboh helps me lots, he's my only friend."

Kuriboh chirped happily as though he understood, and the boy smiled a little. "Maybe one day Big Brother will remember, and then I can come out of hiding. But until then, Kuriboh and I will do our best to make sure that the darkness does not take more than it already has."

Josh was perplexed and astounded by this strange youth. He wasn't a part of Yami's mind after all. Or at least, not directly.

"What is your name?" He asked.

The boy smiled and reached out his hand.

"Atsu." Yami murmured, but his consciousness was far in the back of his mind, and he had no idea that he had spoken the word at all.

As soon as the word left his lips however, everything went utterly black and silent. Yami felt like he had been suddenly cut off, and an uncomfortable emptiness now echoed in his head. He jerked back to startled awareness as the silence settled, realizing that he was alone within his own mind once again. He called out mentally, once, but the thought did not reach anything or anyone, it simply dissolved into the darkness.

There was a second of tense silence as he digested this shocking bit of news. He sensed that this was not supposed to be happening, and he waited with quiet fear and anticipation of what would happen next.

He sensed a great evil approaching.

XxxxxxxxX

Back in the library, as soon as Yami had been cut off from them, Jacob, James and Josh all jerked violently, as they were thrust back into their own minds. It felt as though they had been repelled by a great and terrible force.

"We've lost him." James said, his eyes wide. "But how could we have-" Suddenly he gave a great, hacking cough and doubled over, clutching at his heart.

"James!" Jacob yelled, grasping his companion by the shoulders and holding him steady. "Josh, help him!"

Josh stepped forward but James waved them away, standing straight. He drew in a raspy breath and attempted to speak. "That power..." He murmured, dazed. "Unmistakable... It has to be..." He gasped, trying to force the words out. He could not continue, but they both understood. Jacob went pale, and Josh's eyes filled with dread.

_**A/N: If you don't understand what happened then you can ask me in the review and I'll do my best to explain. Thanks for reading!**_


	11. Doubts

_**Author's Note: Okay so, it's been around... two months? I'm sorry! *Ducks behind giant duck* I really have no excuse as to the lateness of this chapter, but I hope I can make up for it with some extra darkness. *Grins sheepishly* And I would like to thank you all for sticking with this story. It means a lot to me and Dreamer of Legends. Really. Oh, and thanks to those who have favourited! And now, on with the story!**_

Yami stood as strong as he could in the pitch blackness, but he could feel the evil force literally speeding toward him faster than he thought possible, and his hands shook uncontrollably. It swirled all around him, growing and swelling until it seemed it would burst forth in one killing wave.

But then suddenly, the aura shifted, and a small hole seemed to appear within it, though of course Yami could not see it. The darkness stopped, as though it could not pass through that hole, and it was frustrated by that fact. Another feeling began to grow, this one opposite from the darkness.

Puzzled, Yami waited, unsure if this new feeling was any worse than the one it had stopped.

_Perhaps they are fighting over who gets to kill me first. _Yami thought sarcastically, though he could not hide a shiver at the thought.

A shaft of light pierced through the black silence, glowing brightly enough to make him squint and turn his head away so he was not blinded. He threw one arm up to cover his eyes, and waited for the light to fade.

When he finally lowered his arm, and found himself staring once again into Yugi's violet eyes.

Dead silence. Neither one moved, neither one breathed.

Then, he watched Yugi's eyes widen impossibly, staring at Yami as though he could not believe what he was seeing. As soon as he realized he was not hallucinating, he rushed forward as fast as he could, closing the gap between them in seconds. Yugi reached out for Yami, catching hold of his wrists and gripping them so tightly it would have hurt if there was any comprehension of pain in this place. As soon as their skin met, all of the pain and hurt that Yami had been carrying around in his heart completely shattered. The talons of death and apathy that were squeezing his soul lessened, and their painful touch was not nearly so intense.

Yami's heart ached at the fear that was written all over Yugi's face; he wanted so badly to hug him close so that the terrible feelings of loneliness and guilt would subside. But Yugi's intense, pleading, and almost scared expression stopped him.

"Yugi, are you-" he began, but Yugi cut him off.

"Yami, please, listen to me! I don't have much time, he's going to figure out where I've gone any minute!" His eyes unconsciously flickered back and forth, searching the shadows for the unknown nightmare that only his eyes could bear witness to. Yami could feel him shaking softly, literally trembling in fear, and he longed to be able to erase the tense expression that did not belong on Yugi's face. His heart began to burn with sympathetic pain, and this time when the anger washed over him there was no hatred tearing behind it. This time, it was not fueled by negative emotions. Yugi spoke again, somehow knowing exactly what to say.

"Don't give into the darkness. Please Yami, we both know that there are many people out there who want you on their side. Please, please remember that you are _good_, and that no one can force you to turn into something you're not. Hold on to the light, I know it lives in you; I can see it every time you stand up for what you know is right. I see it every day." Once he finished speaking, something seemed to catch his attention, for his head whipped around and he was staring into the shadows intently.

"It's going to be alright Yugi, I'm going to get you back, I swear," Yami promised, able to think clearly without the evil clouding his heart. "But I need your help, you need to tell me who did this to you."

Yugi's gaze snapped back; his eyes were suddenly filled with dread and apprehension. "I-I can't," he stammered, lowering his gaze to the ground in defeat. "I can't. It's better this way, and you won't have to make such a tough choice." He began rambling in a low monotone. "If you were to find out... if you only knew... I won't make you go through with that. There is no way I could forgive myself... No, it's better for everyone if I just stay here. Out of everyone's way."

"Yugi, Yugi! Snap out of it, you're scaring me!" Yami shook him gently, and this time when Yugi looked at him there was a resigned acceptance in his eyes that terrified Yami even further.

"It's okay, Yami. I've made my decision. He's not going to get away with this, I won't let him. He won't get to you that easily."

"Yugi, what in the name of Ra is going on?" Yami demanded, just as a cold breeze blew past them. Yugi's determined face wavered the slightest bit. "He's coming. Listen Yami, you have to let go."

"What? Let go? What do you mean?" He was afraid to find out.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise. Death is just the next big adventure right? I'll be okay..." He trailed off, taking a second to steady his breathing and prevent his gentle voice from cracking. "Besides, it's not me I'm worried about. Yami you have to promise me, promise that no matter what happens, no matter what you see or hear, you will remember that I am still _right here._" He pressed his hand against Yami's chest and stared at him hard, making sure he understood how important this was.

Yami was breathing hard, slowly piecing together what his friend was saying. "No, Yugi no! I won't let this happen, I won't lose you again! Tell me! Who is doing this?"

Yugi shook his head slowly. "No. I know what that knowledge would do to you. I thought that maybe... maybe I could find a way out myself. But I see now that's impossible. Listen Yami, just get out of here. My time is up. I'm just a pawn in the bigger scheme of things anyway. Just forget about me."

Yami's eyes widened in shock, and he grasped Yugi by the shoulders, trying to snap him back to reality. "Don't talk like that Yugi, you know it's not true!

"Hey..." Yugi mumbled, his eyes glazing over as the cold wind grew. "You have a body of your own now... I guess that means you don't need me anymore..." He laughed, slow and dull. His head drooped, and a huge, obsidian chasm opened at his feet. A ripple of malevolent energy blasted from it, knocking Yami from his feet. He watched as Yugi slowly began rising, his eyes empty of any emotion.

Yami jumped to his feet, calling out and stretching forth his hand. "Yugi!"

But just before his splayed fingertips could catch hold, Yugi was swallowed up in a twisting pillar of ebony smoke, and a loud voice called out.

"Not so fast, Pharaoh. You and I have a deal to make."

And then the darkness swallowed him, too.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Bakura's eyes snapped open and looked down at his flashing Ring. He grinned, a strange, maniacal sort of grimace, baring his teeth.

"This is it," he growled. "The Pharaoh has been taken. Now he must defeat the man that took away his partner or else the world will fall into his hands."

Bakura stood up swiftly, and Kaiba instinctively moved closer to the couch to shield Mokuba. But Bakura was not interested in him; he grabbed hold of Kaiba's chin again instead, much to his displeasure.

He moved to knock away Bakura's hand, but stopped at the insane light that sparked in his eyes.

"Listen very carefully. You must not let the Pharaoh lose this battle, understand? If I am ever to claim the power that is rightfully mine, he cannot be allowed to fail." He glanced at Mokuba with a wicked grin. "If you should succeed, then I will return your brother to you. If not..."

He left the rest unsaid. Kaiba looked at his brother, his family, and hardened his resolve. He did not believe a word of all this 'controlling the world' nonsense, but he did not trust Bakura at all. He would not let his pride get in the way of Mokuba's safety, for he could not know for sure what Bakura had done to him.

While he was lost in his own thoughts, Bakura placed his hand in front of the Millennium Ring and stoked its powers.

"This may hurt," he said deviously, grinning like a wolf that knows its prey is weak. A great black blot swallowed Kaiba's vision, and he was tugged violently into the Shadow Realm.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Yami groaned heavily and opened his blurry eyes. He was lying face down, and he could not see anything. He opened his eyes further, but still, he could not see. Alarmed, he wondered for one crazy second if he had gone blind. He got to his feet slowly and shook his head, sighing as he realized where he was.

_The Shadow Realm._ He thought. _Of course, where else would he hide?_

The knife on his hip glowed with a sickly light, as though it approved of the evil atmosphere. Yami was still unsure whether or not he could trust himself with such a blade, and so he proceeded forward with caution.

"Show yourself!" he yelled out. "You have nowhere left to hide!"

He caught a flash of movement off to the side of him as he spoke, and that same hooded figure seemed to simply melt into view.

"On the contrary, Pharaoh, it is you who has nowhere to hide. I have you trapped, and now I can finally take you down and claim your powers for myself. This is the way it should have been all along."

The man reached up to his hooded face, and drew back the cowl of his cloak. "Greetings, O dark and mighty wielder of evil," the man said, giving a low and mocking bow. "My name is Yami, Pharaoh of the ancient lands of Egypt. I have come to kill you."

Yami looked as though a slight breeze would knock him right over, for he stood trembling with his mouth agape. Staring straight at him, ruby eyes glinting in this lightless world, was Yami himself.

"You," Yami breathed, the only word he could manage to utter. "You..."

"No, actually, you," the man said, deliberately trying to confuse him. "Don't you see? This whole mess is your fault. You were the one who killed Yugi. _You_ are the servant of Chaos. I have been trying to stop you all this time, and now I finally have you right where I want you."

Yami tried to smirk, though it was mostly to cover up his inner turmoil. "You cannot fool me. You are nothing but a lie, a shadow fabricated by the land of shadows."

He drew the knife out and pointed it threateningly toward his counterpart. The man only laughed in his face.

"A lie, am I?" he chuckled, eyes flashing. "Look at the blade you wield, scar of vileness. It belongs to Chaos himself, this you cannot deny! You are his servant, whether you will freely admit to it or not. But don't take my word for it, look inside your own heart and see the answers it holds!"

"Enough!" Yami roared. The man's words scared him more that he cared to admit, even to himself. "I care nothing for your lies! I have come here to stop you from seizing control of powers that were never meant to be released, and I shall!"

"That is where you are wrong," he sneered. "You came here only to kill me, you care nothing of the fate of the rest of the world. Not your friends, not your allies, not even your most trusted partner."

He drew closer then, seeing that his words were obviously having a great impact on Yami. He was shaking hard, trying not to listen to the poisonous accusations. But despite that, he doubted.

_What if he is right? What if I am the servant of Chaos? __I have always sensed the darkness, always been privy to its powers..._

"Yes," the man whispered, pushing him along. "You are evil. You knew this from the beginning, and that knowledge was only proven further on that fateful day so long ago. The day the Orichalcos unlocked your darker half. All this time, you thought you had destroyed it, but you were wrong. You _are _the darker half, and _I _am the light."

"No," Yami mumbled through shaking lips, but he did not believe his denial even as he spoke it. "No, it cannot be true! Tell me your name!"

"I don't see why I should," he teased, showing his pointed fangs. "You would not remember me anyway." Then his face suddenly grew dark. "But why not? You deserve to know the name of your better half." He leaned forward slowly, bending to bring his lips close to Yami's ear. "Atsu," he breathed.

A flood of strange emotions surged through him at the word. It felt so very familiar... as though it was linked to him in some way. He grappled with it for a moment, sensing that it was important. But it floated just out of his reach.

_Why can't I remember?_

Atsu reached out his hand. "Join me," he whispered. "Together we can rise up and conquer this world together, and destroy all of the evils that lurk within it. Only then may you redeem yourself."

Yami slapped his hand away, one final burst of denial raging through him. But then his strength faded, sapped by the knowledge the man had given him. He fell to his knees.

"Fine," Atsu growled, seemingly uncaring. "Your denial only proves me right. You would protect those evil-doers that live in the world, so you are no better than they."

He twirled suddenly, his cloak snapping out behind him. "But fear not," he called over his shoulder. "I will never allow your evil to escape this prison. You shall remain locked away here, where your influence cannot harm any others ever again."

Just before he disappeared into the darkness he paused, his stance suddenly sorrowful. He reached into his cloak and pulled forth Yugi's lock. "A pity that your aura had to contaminate one so pure and just," he murmured, gazing at the necklace. "He and I could have accomplished much together, but unfortunately he is as stubborn as you are. A pity..." he repeated. "I was hoping that together we would be able to convince him of the error of his ways. But since you are so firm in your decision, there is nothing I can do. His mind cannot serve me now..."

He cocked his arm back, and made as if to hurl the pendant into the darkness. But he paused again.

"No... perhaps there is a use for him yet." He mused. He turned and brought Yami under the scrutiny of one blood red eye. "I'll keep his spirit alive for the time being. That way you will know how it feels to have a loved one just out of your reach. Then you will know how I felt for so many long years."

Then he vanished, and Yami was left alone in the dark with the lies that felt like truths and the pain that was tearing him apart.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Kaiba peered into the gloom intently, trying to see more than just the shapeless tendrils of shadow that flickered across the barren land. Bakura's words echoed in his head.

"If you want to find the Pharaoh you must concentrate all your energies on him. The Shadow Realm is no easy place to navigate, and if you are to save your brother you must be persistent."

But he had been wandering in the darkness for what seemed like hours, and he had still found no trace of Yugi.

"Forget this," he grumbled. "This stupid hoax is obviously designed to keep me out." Then he remembered a rather interesting tidbit of information concerning the nature of this supposed 'Shadow Realm'.

"Why not?" he said softly. It was worth a try at the very least.

He brought his duel disk up and pulled out the top card. Sure enough, it was exactly the one he needed. He smirked.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" he yelled. "Come forth!"

Kaiba felt a huge energy gathering within the card, and a bright beam of white light shot out and morphed into the great dragon. He raised his huge head and let out a roar that shattered the pressing silence. He spread his magnificent wings wide and slowly pumped them.

"You know what to do," Kaiba said confidently, but in truth he had no idea what it was he expected of the great beast. The dragon fixed him with one luminous eye, and Kaiba could've sworn he saw him nod. Then all of a sudden, Blue-Eyes snaked his long neck around to Kaiba's back and lowered his huge head. Moving slowly, he parted his massive jaws and carefully snagged the collar of Kaiba's jacket on his ivory teeth.

"Hey!" Kaiba gasped, startled, but he was wise enough not to struggle. The dragon growled softly as he turned about and deposited Kaiba onto his back. Kaiba clutched at him for dear life as he spread his wings further and leaped into the dark air with another almighty roar.

XxxxxxxxxX

Atsu paced back and forth anxiously, feeling as though his plans were slipping through his fingers. He was tossing Yugi's golden lock back and forth between his hands. He growled once, low and dangerous.

"It's not working. He's still clinging too strongly to his faith and his light. The darkness is there, to be sure, but it cannot consume him. This is not working!" he roared, fiery rage coursing through his veins. This _had_ to work! All of the hatred he had nurtured these past millenia demanded no less. His final sweet revenge all hinged on the Pharaoh's surrender; the ultimate light succumbing to ultimate darkness. But he could not just kill Yami and be done with it, he had to utterly destroy his pure heart, or else Yami would always find a way back from the darkness.

"If I cannot destroy the Pharaoh, then I cannot claim his powers. And without a body of my own, I cannot destroy him on my own terms."

He growled again in frustration. "I need to find a way to defeat him. I need to kill his heart in order to regain the life I lost! I need-" He cut himself off, both his eyes and his grin growing wicked and wild. "I need a body." The thought was not an unpleasant one.

_Fine then _Pharaoh, he spat mentally. _We'll do this the hard way. All because of your refusal... you could have saved him so much pain__.__... Oh well, it's by your own hand this deed comes to pass._

He started chanting slowly, enacting a simple, yet clever spell. As the words flowed from his lips, his Pharaohs garb morphed into a jean jacket and other modern day attire, and his eyes deepened in hue and depth until they were rich purple.

He held his hands in front of his eyes, making sure the mask was flawless. Then he gave one last wicked grin and departed into the darkness.

XxxxxxxxX

Yugi sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring into the darkness with a glazed look in his eyes. In reality he was looking inside himself, trying to put together some semblance of understanding.

His heart was heavy, like he had an anchor tied to it. He understood what it was; it was the weight of the lock. That same pendant that that dark man kept tormenting him with. So long as it was safely out of his reach, Yugi could not leave. Tears started pooling in his eyes.

"How did we get ourselves into this mess?" he wondered aloud. He lowered his voice until it was no more than a whisper, a solitary tear slipping down his face.

"I'm sorry Yami, so sorry. Please... if you can hear me, you need to leave. I'm just the bait, he wants you."

Another tear joined the first.

Scarcely a second later, a desperate cry echoed through the shadows, and Yugi's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yugi! Yugi, can you hear me? Where are you?"

He gasped, hestiating for a split second out of shock before he bounded to his feet.

"Yami! Here! I'm here!" he cried out before he could stop himself. A dark blot separated itself from the surrounding mists, barreling toward him with all speed. And then, the face that Yugi needed to see so badly was in view. Yami stepped into his prison.

But the immediate joy Yugi had felt at seeing him again was short lived, for other dangers pressed on his thoughts.

"Yami, you've got to get out of here! That man, the lock holder, he's-" Yugi began, needing to explain.

"I know," Yami stopped him. "He's my darker half, the one I unlocked when I played the Seal of Orichalcos." Atsu tried his best to paint a pained expression on his face, attempting to seem hurt by the memory. He need not have worried, Yugi looked confused at his words and was not paying much attention to his facial expressions.

"No, it's not just that. He's-" but 'Yami' cut him off again.

"There's no time! We have to leave before he escapes!" He grabbed Yugi by the hand and tugged him along. "I've locked him in a corner of the Shadow Realm, by turning his own powers against him. We have to get out of here before he finds us!"

Something about his words did not settle well on Yugi's shoulders. As much as he wanted to trust his companion, he found himself questioning.

"How did you trap him? And how do you know where you're going?"

Atsu snarled inwardly, having no answer for these inquiries. He stumbled in his mind, trying to fabricate a decent lie that would convince him.

But then, Yugi suddenly jerked to a halt. "Did you hear that?" he said softly, listening hard. "That sounded like Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Atsu grasped at the idea that would hold together his flimsy lies. He looked as though Yugi's observation had filled him with dread.

"No... I was afraid of this! He has escaped! Now he has our friends trapped within his grasp! We have to go save them!"

All traces of doubt flew from Yugi's mind at his words. The knowledge that his friends were in danger overwhelmed any other thoughts.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, determination burning in his voice. Atsu smiled to himself.

"I cannot destroy him on my own. He is too strong and..." he paused, seemingly trying to choke back his emotions. Yugi's face softened with sympathy. "I cannot find the heart to forgive myself. He is my creation, my evil come to life. If it wasn't for me..." He had to stop again, but he got his intended effect. He squeezed his eyes shut to hold back the flood of fake tears.

Yugi reached up one hand to grasp his shoulder firmly. "You know it's not your fault, Yami," he said softly. "We've talked about this before. Don't you realize that we should put it behind us?"

Atsu opened his eyes and smiled slightly. "You're right Yugi, as always. I should put it behind me."

Something flashed in his eyes for a moment, something that did not belong there at all. But then it was buried, leaving Yugi confused and wondering if he had only imagined it.

Atsu knelt down and fixed Yugi under the gaze of his dark eyes. "He posseses strange powers Yugi, and we have to be careful. He will try to cloud your mind and poison your thoughts. Don't lose sight of what you know."

"Don't worry," Yugi vowed. "He won't be able to fool me again, I promise."

"Good," Atsu purred. "Then there is only one thing left to do."

He saw Atsu's hand being raised, but he did not comprehend what it meant until it was too late. An explosion erupted on the side of his head, and Yugi fell forward into blackness.

_**A/N: Thanks for reading! Oh, and as always, if you have any questions, or if you spot any errors, please feel free to mention them in a review! (And I promise I'll update WAY faster next time!)**_


	12. My Atsu

_**Author's Note: Uh... A month? Really? *Laughing nervously* Wow time flies by... I'll just shut up and let you read. **_

Yami stood trembling in the darkness, waging an inner war with himself. The knife, that wicked, perverse dagger, was proding relentlessly at him, almost begging to be used. Yami was trying his best to ignore the subconcious calls, but they were strong, and he was so tired of fighting.

_Wield me..._

"No." Yami steadfastedly refused.

_Take my powers..._

"I can't." His voice wavered.

_You must..._

"No..." His denial was no more than a whisper now.

In the confines of his mind, huddled in a corner of stone near the door, hid little Atsu and Kuriboh.

"Uh-oh..." the child whispered, feeling the tingles of power that signaled the door was about to be flung open. "It's starting, Big Brother is losing himself again! We've got to hide!"

But just as they jumped from their resting place, the door was thrust open, and the great darkness began tearing through his mind.

"Hold on Kuriboh!" Atsu shouted, and his little friend clutched at the stone as hard as he could. But he was slipping, and Atsu could see that. Kuriboh's claws dug little grooves into the stone, but one particularily violent tug from the door tore him free from his perch.

"Kuriboh, no!" Atsu screamed, letting go of his own hold and careening after him. Since he was heavier, he moved faster, and he caught up to him quickly. Using all of the strength and bravery he had, he flung the little puffball against the wind's current, back toward the safe haven. When Kuriboh landed, he turned back and chirped for Atsu to hurry and get away from the door. He took a shaking step, then another, but the force was too strong.

"I can't make it," he said softly, his words carrying clearly even over the tumult of sound. "I'm sorry Kuriboh. Make sure Big Brother doesn't forget me, or else we'll never save him!" His words were spoken with conviction and determination, and there were no tears in his eyes as he accepted his fate. His whole body relaxed and the wind sucked him up in a flurry of movement. "Good-bye my friend," he whispered as he fell into the blackness and the door slammed shut behind him.

Atsu suddenly doubled over, clutching at the space over his heart and hacking violently. A surge of energy coursed through him, the likes of which he'd never felt before. He collapsed to his knees from the sheer force of it; his skin took on a pale sheen and his eyes were harder than rubies.

"Gaaaah..." he panted, shaking his head as he rose. His eyes were closed, sifting through the new energy that was pounding through him. He took in a few steady breaths and then his eyes snapped open, glowing brightly with forbidden might.

"Such power..." he murmured, his voice carrying a subtle undertone of demonic quality. He inhaled deeply, basking in the liquid fire that surged through his veins. A trembling and unstable laugh escaped his slightly parted lips, echoing in the blackness. He felt as though his eyes had been opened.

"The Pharaoh's powers?" he mocked, a new plan coming to his mind for the first time. "What should I want with _his_ weak and pitiful heka? My strength could easily finish him!"

Atsu did not question the appearance of his newfound abilities. Foolishly confident and dangerously arrogant, he fully believed that it was power he had had all along, and that it was just now choosing to reveal itself. Forget trying to steal Yami's strength, he had more than enough of his own, and Atsu had no more use for him. Now his ultimate revenge could be exacted with as much pain and agony as was physically, mentally, and emotionally possible, making it all the sweeter.

He stretched his hand out in front of him, fingers crackling with black electricity. He raised the powerful ball and shot it into the air above him, where it was swallowed up almost instantly by the shadows.

"I summon you, minions of the dark realm!" he shouted. "Come to me, my children, so that together we may crush the one who imprisoned you!"

Several glowing pairs of amber eyes blinked out of the darkness, their sickly light illuminating pale and grim faces.

"Go," he commanded them, and they dispersed to hunt down their prey.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

They flew in the darkness on silent wings, but the going was slow because there was no wind in this unnatural place.

"Faster," Kaiba pleaded the dragon. "I have to hurry if I'm going to find Yugi in time..."

Though Blue-Eyes' breath came heavily, he sped up his wingstrokes without a whisper of complaint. Kaiba, in a rare moment of understanding, patted his back in sympathy.

"Just a little further," he said softly. "I need your help to save Mokuba."

Then, though there was no horizon to judge their poition by, Kaiba felt like they were decending. He wondered for a second if the dragon was just to tired to continue, but after they landed he could hear voices whispering in front of them, and he realized that they must have arrived.

He leapt off of Blue-Eyes and started forward, but the dragon raised a shaking wing and stopped him. Peering over the thin membrane, Kaiba could just make out the shadowy form of Yugi (or rather, Yami) kneeling on the floor just a few feet away.

"Hey, Yugi!" he called, but Yami did not respond to the words. "Why can't he hear me?" he wondered aloud, not expecting an answer. But he got one anyway when Blue-Eyes again locked him under the gaze of one bright eye, a look that clearly said: _We must wait._

Just then, a great many shadows, the same kind he saw in his vision, began materializing out of the darkness to surround Yami.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

An ice cold laugh, that same dark and humorless laugh that had haunted him since this whole thing started, echoed once again in his head. Yami's eyes snapped up to meet Atsu's, and he noted with some concern that his demeanor was not as controlled or rational as before. A chaotic aura twisted around him, as though something had happened that had stripped away his precarious hold on sanity.

"Fine," he murmured, seemingly carrying on a previous conversation. "Fine! If you will not join me, then be consumed by the darkness!"

He snapped his fingers sharply, and those same shadowy forms of Joey, Tristan and Tea stepped out of the darkness. Yami glared at them, knowing what they were going to try to do. Sure enough, they began to chant again, the same hope-draining chant they had tried to drag him down with in the forest.

Did he have the strength to stand against them a second time?

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Meanwhile, the real members of the gang were sitting in silence at Joey's kitchen table, wondering what on earth they were going to do. Each wore sullen faces, and they were all staring at the wooden surface as though it held the answers they were looking for.

After a moment of thought, Tea cleared her throat and broke the silence.

"Couldn't we go to the police?"

Joey was shaking his head before she ever finished her sentance.

"They'll never buy our story for a minute," he said quietly, still not looking up.

"We can't go on assumptions alone, Joey," Tea protested, still feeling like the authorities were a good idea.

"Even if we did go," Tristan put in softly, "we'd have no proof. And without some way to show that we're not just pulling some grand prank, it's unlikely they'll listen anyway."

Tea sighed and dropped her hopeful gaze, defeated. She clasped her hands in front of her, searching for an answer.

Joey was watching her with an equally sullen expression, but her action triggered a memory in him from a long while back. He bit his lip, trying not to raise his hopes too much, but Tea had given him an idea that might just work.

"Do you guys remember that day back in Duelist Kingdom? The day that Yugi finally went up against Pegasus for his grandpa's soul?"

The others nodded, unsure what he was getting at. Joey continued.

"The only reason Yugi won that duel was because he teamed up with the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. He and the Pharaoh worked together in order to stop him." Joey leaned forward, his eyes shining with the idea that was bursting forth.

"But after Yugi fell, after Pegasus pulled one of his dirty tricks, the Pharaoh almost lost then too. There was only one reason he managed to stand up against the Millennium Eye."

Tristan's eyes widened. "Us? But... I dunno Joey, we didn't really do anything. It was the Pharaoh who fought the battle, we just stood on the sidelines."

Joey smiled, and looked at Tea, who was smiling too. "Well," she said softly. "No one ever said that cheerleaders weren't important."

"Exactly," Joey agreed. "Listen, were do you think the Pharaoh is now?"

"Probably searching for the psycho that's responsible for this whole mess," Tristan mused, remembering the promise of vengance that had been stamped on Yami's face when he left. "There's no way it was any normal villain, it had to be someone stronger. I would guess that he'd be close, judging by how much time has gone by..." He paused for a moment, thinking. "The Shadow Realm?" he asked finally, thinking that to be the most likely choice. Everything crazy that went on was usually linked in some way to that dark and forbidden place.

"Bingo," Joey stated, in a tone that finalized his proposal. "So, why don't we try reaching out to Yugi the same way we did before? If he's going up against the Shadow Realm itself he's going to need our support."

He rested his hands on the table and looked at them both, his trusted friends. "What do you say, guys?"

They needed no further encouragement. They both piled their hands together and focused hard, willing their energies to seek out and find Yami, so that they could offer him their strength.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

As before, Yami felt his heart grow heavy under the weight of the evil that was slowly surrounding him. What could he do? The anger and the hatred that he had clung to for so long was beginning to bubble up to the surface once again, but he did not want to take it. He knew that the words that Yugi had spoken where true, and that he did not have to follow the negativity if he chose not to. He needed to make a choice. He needed to look into his heart, but would he find light? Or would he find that his heart was filled with the darkness that he feared so much?

Atsu glided closer. "That's it," he growled. "Take your anger into yourself, use it to rise above! You won't be able to defeat me without it..."

"No. Not again, never again!" he whispered, but Atsu would not relent. He caught Yami under the gaze of his burning, bloody eyes, and Yami's own sight blurred. "You must," he purred. "Join me, or I swear by Chaos' black throne that I will strip you of everything you hold dear, and leave you to die a slow death in this nightmare!"

He backed away, letting his words sink deep.

"No," Yami murmured, unwilling to give up, though it would have been so easy. His heart would not let him.

_It's now or never__,_he thought to himself. _I can either look in my heart and seek the answers it holds, good or bad, or I can spend the rest of my life living in fear and doubt of myself. I must trust that the lessons I have learned have not been erased by these past dark memories._

He paused mentally for a split second, and then dove into his own soul, seeking the truth.

All he could see were faces. Familiar faces, faces showing warmth, strength and hope. Gradually he became aware of who they were, and he felt a small spark growing within him. Gentle smiles, warm eyes. But more than just the physical expressions, there was a great feeling of love that permeated this soft and warm place.

Yami smiled softly, wondering, in that split second of clear peace and understanding, how he ever could have doubted his inner strength. All of his friends had places in his heart, and with their combined light, there was no way he could falter.

This time, he would not be so easily defeated.

Jacob, James and Josh's solid offers of advice and friendship bubbled to the surface, a litany against the chants of the dark ones. He called upon images of his oldest and dearest of friends as well, using their hopeful faces to further secure his grip of right and wrong. As soon as he did, he felt a rush of strength and courage wash through him, and he could've sworn that he heard a small voice whisper:

_We're with you._

After only a few minutes, he had found his heart again, and could easily brush away the darkness that was attempting to cloud him. But he didn't want to let on to Atsu that he had gained an advantage. He wanted to let him think that he was still just as easily consumed as before, and when he found the right opportunity, he would strike.

The demonic forms of his 'friends' wavered and shifted as he let the light within him grow, and soon they dissolved into nothing more than shapeless shadows. Yami nearly laughed aloud, ever amazed of that the simple bond of friendship they all shared was strong enough to defeat the mightiest of dark magics with ease. Now that he knew in his own heart where the right path lay, he was determined never to lose it again.

He clentched his teeth and prepared himself; he would have only one chance to get to Atsu, one clear strike before he could offer a counter measure. He did well to hide his grin at the thought. Atsu wasn't going to take him down that easily!

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Yugi stirred and opened his bleary eyes, a dull ache pounding on the side of his head.

"Urgh..." he groaned, searching for the strength to sit up. When his eyes focused, he gasped, rubbing them for a moment to make sure he wasn't seeing double.

For two Yami's stood before him, two visions that looked almost exactly alike. How was he going to figure out which was which?

He remembered that the man who had disguised himself as Yami had been the one to knock him out. But... how was he supposed to know which one that was now?

Despite the fact that he knew the man must have been lying through his teeth to get him to go along, there remained one truth in his words that Yugi could not shake himself loose of.

_He will try to cloud your thoughts..._

He shook his head, trying to feel if there was some sort of influence cast on him. But he couldn't feel anything, so his mind must still have been be clear. He narrowed his eyes on the two combatants in front of him, determined not to be fooled again.

The Yami that was standing seemed confident, calm. The one that was kneeling on the ground was shaking with the weight of some unknown emotion coursing through him.

And then Yugi gasped. Standing around the kneeling man were his friends! They were bound and gagged, standing around his fallen form like they wanted nothing more than to help him, but they couldn't.

_That proves it then. _Yugi thought to himself. _The one kneeling must be the real Yami, that explains why our friends are all tied up. The one standing must be in control._

He rose to his feet shakily, searching for a way that he could help. He needed to get to Yami before Atsu stopped toying with him and just finished the job.

But just as he took a step forward, Yami sprang up from the ground and lunged at his friends.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kaiba looked on with grim satistfaction as Yami tore through the ranks of the dark shadows, for the illusions never made it through his scrutiny. He was almost glad that Yami had not fallen for the tricks of the dark one, for he felt like his opponent should be strong enough to see through simple mind games.

But then he happened to look past the struggle, and felt the blood drain from his face. Yugi was staring at Yami, with an expression of purest betrayal. Appearantly the shadows were more than just shadows in his eyes.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Yami leaped up and drew the blade, and as he grasped at the weapon its dark and evil aura surged forth with it strongest deluge of power yet. But Yami, his confidence and hope restored and his inner heart in balance once more, found it to be a weak and frail thing indeed. He used his own aura to fight off the dagger, and he let no anger penetrate his concentration.

He reached out and slashed one shadow across where he presumed its throat would be, not pausing to wait and see if his attack had worked. He just charged ahead, blindly thrusting the knife into any shadow that stood in his way. His target was singular and unmoving, and soon enough the only things standing in his way were there more by accident than by design. By the time a clear path had opened between he and Atsu, all of the demons had fled to the farthest reaches of the lightless depths to recover.

Atsu still had not moved. Yami stopped just before he got to him, trying to hide his confusion. He had beaten Atsu's minions and made it past his illusions. The dagger no longer held any influence over him; he clearly held every advantage. But Atsu seemed unafraid. Indeed, he seemed almost haughty.*

"Well, look how far the mighty Pharaoh has fallen," he sneered. "Look, your blade drips with the blood of the innocent, the blood of your friends. What would Yugi say?"

Yami would not be brought under by the traitor's false accusations again. "Still your tongue, trickster. I'll not fall for your devilish lies again! Yugi would not be taken in either."

Atsu's upper lip curled into a sinister smile. "Are you sure? Why don't you ask him yourself?"

He snapped his fingers, and Yugi stepped out of the shadows, his face blank and tears tracing solitary lines down each of his cheeks.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Yugi's mind could not focus. His heart could not focus. His soul was crying out in denial, not believing what his eyes were imparting to him. His breath hitched and caught deep in his throat, refusing to rise above his heart. He could hardly see his eyes were so blurry, and he could acutely feel each hot tear as it splashed onto his cheek.

Yami... his protector and confidant just... just...

He couldn't complete the thought, it was just too much. Atsu beckoned to him, calling him forward, and he obeyed without thinking, his gaze never leaving that of his shocked partner.

"How could you?" was all he could say. He stopped his advance, standing so that the distance between he and Atsu and he and Yami was equal. Still, his eyes never left those of his counterpart.

"No Yugi, don't listen to him. He's trying to cloud your mind, trying to turn you against me!" Yami said, but unfortunately, his choice of words had the opposite effect of the one he intended.

"Cloud my mind..." Yugi repeated softly. "Don't they all? What if you are actually trying to make me think otherwise? How do I know that you are not the one trying to fool me?"

Yami could not respond, for an uncomfortable lump was welling in his throat, one that he had not the strength to banish. He could sense where these inquiries were leading, and he knew what it meant. He was too late.

He turned and snapped a sharp glare on his doppelganger. "Release him. He has done nothing to you, so let him out of whatever spell you have imprisoned him in."

Atsu grinned wickedly. "Spell? What spell? Not one of the mind, I assure you. He was too well prepared for that." He cackled, trying to toy with Yami. But he remained steadfast.

"I don't care what sort of enchantment it was, just undo it," Yami growled, his tone revealing that this would be the last time he asked so calmly. But Atsu shook his head.

"I would say the decision remains entirely his, wouldn't you?"

Yami was about to protest, for how could Yugi possibly choose fairly under the influence of this man's darkness? But Atsu beat him to it.

"Look at me, Yugi," he murmured softly, and Yugi felt his gaze drawn to Atsu's. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that I am not your Yami."

Yugi did look, and what he saw made no sense. It was almost as though there was a dark power... a deep and buried evil... but there was good there too. There was a light buried so deep within him that it was almost gone, but it was still there. Before he could offer any semblance of understanding to this revelation though, Atsu spun him around to face Yami and again whispered in that cold yet undeniably persuasive voice of his.

"Now look, and tell me what you see. Would the Yami you know commit such a foul deed?"

Yugi gasped again, for littered around Yami's feet were the cold and still forms of his friends.

_Tea, Tristan, Joey..._

Yami looked down, not understanding the horrified look on Yugi's face. All that he saw at his feet were the corpses of the living shadows that he had slain. But it was obvious that they appeared as something more to Yugi, for his tears were running fresh.

"No." Yugi spoke softly, his voice trembling hard. "Yami wouldn't do that." He closed his eyes and looked inside himself, but he was too jumbled to think. All he saw was his friends, friends that he would never see again...

His eyes opened, and he glared at Yami. "You're not my brother," he whispered, and turned his back to him.

Atsu smiled wickedly, and Yami was dumbfounded. _How can he not see the evil of this man?_

"Come, Yugi," Atsu said, stretching forth his hand. "Let us defeat this evil together."

Yugi's tone and demeanor had completely degenerated now. "Yes, together..." he mumbled.

Yami knew he should do something, should spring forward and wrest Yugi away. But he knew that it would not do any good, the damage had already been done. Still, there must be some way to convince him...

"You see?" Atsu purred, interrupting his thoughts. He held Yugi in a close embrace, running one hand down the side of his face in open mockery of him. "You could not even protect your partner in the end. The one who relies on you the most..." His gaze wandered to the youth, who stood completely blank faced in his arms. "Now I can take you down, now I can destroy you from the inside out, with the other half of your very soul," he snarled, and moved his mouth teasingly down the side of Yugi's neck, curling back his lips as he did so.

"Oh, but wait..." He paused, as if a new idea had just occured to him. "We cannot start the feast just yet..."

His ruby eyes snapped up, and locked with Kaiba's own startled blue orbs. Atsu raised his hand and uttered a single command word, and suddenly both Kaiba and Blue-Eyes were encased in a brightly glowing cage. The shocked dragon's angry cries howled through the realm.

"Thought you could sneak by me did you?" Atsu growled, still smiling. "Fools! Nothing gets past the bearer of Chaos!" And he threw back his head and laughed, unable to contain himself.

Yugi stirred in his tight grip, the call of Blue-Eyes appealing to the one small part of his rationale that had not been consumed by Atsu's feverish gaze. He shook himself mentally, realizing in that critical moment that if he didn't do something soon, then everything was doomed.

Then his mind clicked, and he came fully back to his senses. He saw Kaiba trapped, Blue-Eyes trapped, Yami standing stock still, not daring to make a move for fear of Yugi's safety. He knew what he had to do. If they were to have any chance of getting out of here...

Moving as fast as he could, and with Atsu already distracted, he reached up to his neck and tore off the small necklace that Atsu had bound him with.

"Yami!" he cried out, hurling the necklace with all the strength he had. It spun end over end tantalizingly, just barely reaching Yami's outstretched hands.

The lock.

"Get out of here!" was all Yugi had time to scream. When Atsu saw what he had done, he grabbed hold of Yugi's wrist and pulled him close.

"It's too late, Pharaoh!" he screeched, truly decended into madness. "Your partner belongs to me now!"

And as Yami watched in absolute terror, Atsu leaned over and sunk his teeth into the tender flesh of Yugi's neck.

"NO!" Yami roared, but it was too late. Yugi jerked and fell forward into Atsu's waiting grasp, his eyes wide and staring. Even as Yami watched, his eyes, those innocent, purity filled eyes, began to darken. Atsu's body slowly disappeared, and Yugi's eyes grew to a deep red as he did so. Then Yugi straightened and grinned wickedly.

He began to rise up off of the ground, tilting his head back to look into the deep gloom overhead. More dark shapes and shadows swirled around him, giving him strength and beginning the transformation that would take their king from the realm of the dead to the world of the living.

Yami stood transfixed, in awe of what he was seeing. A strange power seemed to seize hold of him as he watched, and he suddenly felt light-headed, like he was rising, floating free of himself, rising to that great and awful chaotic sphere. It was only Kaiba's quick-thinking that saved him from Atsu's wrath. He reached between the bars of his cage and slapped Yami across the back, diverting his attention away from the spectacle of the growing power.

Yami blinked as he fell back into himself. He looked over to Kaiba, his arch-nemesis, and felt only fear. How where they going to stop this?

"What's going on?" Kaiba shouted, needing to raise his voice to be heard over the tumult of sound.

"There's no time to explain!" Yami shouted back, examining the pendant. "I have to get you out of here and I think this pendant is the answer! Do you see an opening?"

Kaiba peered at the bars for a moment, but backed off almost immediately, for they had grown thicker and were humming subtly. He had no doubt that if he touched them he would be dead before he even realized he'd been shocked.

"Don't touch them!" he yelled. "Too much power!"

Yami only heard half of the words, but he understood his meaning well enough.

_What do I do? _he questioned himself, searching for an answer. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, determined not to give up. But it all seemed so hopeless...

And then, he felt another feather-light tug pull at his hand again. His eyes flew open and he looked down to behold a smaller, ghostly version of Atsu standing by his side and holding his hand.

The child looked up at him too, with a small smile.

"Use your love," he whispered softly, and amazingly enough Yami caught every word.

"My love?" he echoed, not understanding. The kid smiled, and patiently reiterated.

"Love can overcome all obstacles put before it, and it can conquer the mightiest of demons. Use your love, Big Brother." And then he disappeared.

Yami stood in shocked silence for a moment, before a sudden violent tremor shook the very ground upon which he stood. He spun around in time to see the dark light surrounding Yugi's body pulse and grow larger, threatening to swallow him. He was running out of time!

He closed his eyes again and searched his heart, praying that he would find what he needed in time.

_Joey, Tristan, Tea, Jacob, James, Josh__...Yugi...__please all of my friends, I need you! __Help me to be strong, help me to stay close to my own heart, and help me to help others. If I fail now, the whole world will crumble. Please, my companions, lend me your strength, so th__a__t__ together we may defeat the evil that threatens us! _

A huge bright light of the purest white shot out of Yami, separating into countless tiny forms. Hundreds of thousands of Kuribohs hurtled themselves toward the cage that held Kaiba and his dragon, and as soon as they came in contact they exploded. Blinding flashes of light burst into their vison, chunks of warped and twisted metal flying everywhere. Within moments, they stood free.

But there was a price to pay, for as the smoke cleared and the dust settled it revealed a weak and very shaken Kuriboh just barely hovering over the ground. Yami walked over and gently scooped the tired monster into his arms, buring his face in his soft fur.

"Thank you, Kuriboh. Get some rest, my friend."

Kuriboh chirped softly and disappeared, retreating back into Yami's heart to sleep.

Blue-Eyes stretched his wings wide and roared again, his shining form shaking away the shadows.

Yami looked back at Yugi, who was now almost completely consumed by the dark. He took a step forward, suddenly convinced of his goal. He turned back to Kaiba and shouted as loud as he could.

"Go! Take your dragon and be gone from this place!"

"What about you?" Kaiba yelled back, unsure what he was getting at. Yami looked back at Yugi, determination burning in his eyes. "I know what I must do."

Kaiba finally clued in, and he reached out and grabbed hold of Yami's wrist as he turned again, stopping him cold.

"Are you nuts?" he cried. "We have to get out of here! Snap out of it, Yugi is gone, there's nothing you can do!"

Yami's visage did not waver. "No, I can still save him. I know I can..." He trailed off, and slipped his hand out of Kaiba's grasp. Turning round, he again started toward Yugi. The chaotic aura that was swirling around Yugi's form was growing brighter and louder, and he was almost completely gone. But he persisted, one shaky step in front of another, and was soon just under the mass of dark energy. He reached up his shaking fingers, and made as if to touch the ball of chaos that had consumed his partner. He wasn't even thinking straight anymore, he only knew that if he touched it then he would be with Yugi again.

But his hand never made it, for he was suddenly blown right off of his feet. Kaiba grabbed him around the waist and bore him to the ground in a great tackle, and Yami fell beneath him nervelessly.

Kaiba turned as he landed and managed to huff out: "Blue-Eyes! Now!"

The dragon gave a tremendous roar and sucked in a deep breath that actually pulled them back a few inches. A powerful light swelled within his mighty jaws, and he reared back and blasted a beam of pure white energy into the heart of chaos, right into Yugi.

Atsu's tearing scream pierced right through them, his spirit dissolving in the rush of light.

"NO!" he cried, as his spirit was blasted clear out of Yugi's body and knocked back into the darkness below. He landed with a heavy thump, and lay still and unmoving. Wisps of smoke trailed up from his form, and he was badly scorched and burned. Yami thought he was dead, but then he stirred and started to rise to his feet.

Did evil _ever _die?

His face was horribly scarred and brusied, and his breath came in great gasps. He staggered forward a couple of steps and nearly fell, but he stayed on his feet with just the sheer determination to refuse to lay down and die. Kaiba and Yami also got to their feet, and Kaiba started to motion to Blue-Eyes to finish off the man, but Yami stayed his hand. He would deal with this.

He stepped forward to close the distance between them, and Atsu's feverish gaze drilled into his own with menace.

Yami was no longer afraid, for this hollow vessel of powers long spent could not threaten him anymore. He was confident that he could defend himself against any move he would make against him.

"Why?" he whispered, honestly wondering for the first time why this man, this creation, had gone to such lengths to try and destroy everything he held dear. Atsu didn't respond, he simply reached out to grab Yami's hand. Yami started to jerk away, but Atsu snarled so loudly that he stopped in shock. He pulled both of their hands, murmuring under his breath. He slipped yet another small bauble into Yami's palm.

This neckace began to glow softly, and for some reason the sight made Yami's heart shudder.

"Come... and find me, my atsu. Seek me out... if you want... your answers. You know you cannot... stay away... for the events of this night... will haunt you, until you seek to resolve them. I-I will be waiting." He breathed brokenly, and then he collapsed, literally unable to hold up his spirit any longer. He was swallowed by the shadows without a whisper.

Yami stood trembling in silence. At Atsu's words, the spell that Josh had placed over his mind snapped, and the parchment that he had read earlier came flooding back into his thoughts. He just stared at the necklace, feeling a twinge of recognition from deep within him. It was a small blood-red butterfly.

Suddenly a certain fragment from his past came with it, broken and scattered pieces of Ancient Egyptian script that threw these past few hours into an even more confusing light.

All this time, Yami had thought that Atsu was his darker half. But now, with the way he had spoken it, as a word rather than a name, atsu took on an entirely different meaning.

Atsu was not just his darker half...

He was his brother.

_The Prince of Egypt was dead._

**A/N: **_**Atsu is egyptian for twin.**_

***Dreamer of Legends and I could NOT find a word that was similar to haughty, because that's exactly what Atsu was at that point, but we couldn't make it sound any more epic. So sorry for the fail right there XD. **


	13. Brotherhood

_**Author's Note: Hey y'all! This is the last chapter! Oh joyous day, you shall no longer have to put up with my sporadic updates and empty promises of attempting to fix them. Well, that being said, stick around, and read the very last chapter in this odd tale! The last one... until the... *drumroll* SEQUEL! **_

Kaiba stood staring at his dragon with a look of scared confusion on his normally stern face. He felt very out of place and out of practice. With the rush of adrenaline that had accompanied their battle, he had had no time to stop and ponder what was going on. Now he found that opportunity, and he didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to go about his life as if nothing had changed, with everything he had seen?

He did not notice Yami coming over to him under he felt his hand come to rest on his arm. He turned to his rival, and for the first time in his life had no idea what to say. His customary sarcasm just did not seem to fit here.

Yami looked into his eyes, and saw the torment that was there. He understood, for Kaiba's whole world had probably taken quite a tumble with everything that had happened this night, and it looked like he wasn't taking it too well.

They didn't have to say anything. For once, they were of the same mindset. Yami sympathized with Kaiba's desire to just forget all he had seen, and he cast a sideways glance at Blue-Eyes. The mighty dragon nodded at the Pharaoh, and Yami smiled.

"Keep him safe then, great beast." Yami whispered, and moved his hand to Kaiba's forehead. Kaiba started to ask what he was doing, but the words were lost as a great force rushed up inside his mind. His vision expolded in a burst of light, and the world before him shattered into a thousand tiny fragments.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kaiba jerked forward with a loud gasp, sitting up violently and nearly catapulting himself off the couch. He sat there for a moment, trying so hard to force his mind to focus. When he finally calmed himself, he realized that he was back home, sitting on his couch, and staring into his fire.

A small movement on his legs made him jump, but he relaxed as soon as he looked down. Mokuba's head was resting on his lap, snoring softly. Then he gave a little yawn and rolled over, and Kaiba was convinced that he was safe.

_Was it all just a dream?_ He wondered silently. _But it was so real..._

Slowly, gradually, with the same stubborn demeanor that had marked Kaiba's earliest days, he pushed the matter from his thoughts. He relaxed a little more every minute, until he was certain that all he had witnessed was indeed, no more than a bad dream.

In the shadow of the windowsill, just outside the house, Bakura slipped away with a satistfied smirk on his face. The threat to his ambition and goals had been dealt with.

One thing was for sure though, Kaiba thought as he settled back down and closed his eyes.

He was never drinking coffee before bed again.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Yami stood confused in the shadows, wondering how on earth he was going to get out of here. _The darkness is gone._ He thought. _Yet the shadows remain..._

Suddenly, a small, soft, warm light started glowing behind him, and as he turned to behold it he lost his breath. Yugi floated down from above, slowly and gently, like a falling star across a black sky. Yami felt a surge of cold fear grip him. Yugi no longer held the lock... did that mean his soul had fled the mortal realm? _No, he can't have. This _is _Yugi's spirit I'm looking at, so he cannot have left..._ Yami reached out and caught his falling form, again holding his partner as he had done only hours before. _Hours? _He thought. _More like days..._He was so still, sleeping as though he would never awaken again.

"Yugi?" he whispered, trying to rouse him. "Yugi?"

He did not stir. Yami voice cracked, tears pooling in his eyes. "Please Yugi... come back... We did it, can't you see? Atsu is gone, and we -Kaiba and I- were able to save you from the darkness." The words tumbled from his mouth without any direction. He kept talking, hoping to elicit a response from Yugi. "Come on, you have to open your eyes. You have to come back to the light. I know you can hear me! Please Yugi, I don't want to lose you again... this is all my fault. I'm so sorry. I would gladly take your burden upon myself, if only you did not have to suffer... you have to come back..."

Desperate, he held up the lock that Yugi had thrown to him before Atsu had filled his soul with his own evil presence. He tried to press it against Yugi, hoping to instill some life back into his spirit with the object that had kept him bound to its weilder. But his hand passed right through.

Frustrated, he put his hand on Yugi's face, without the pendant, and this time it stayed. His skin was so cold beneath his fingertips.

"What can I do?" he asked quietly. "How can I help you, my brother?"

Then, by the grace of some divine being, he was blessed with an idea.

"My brother..." he repeated, drawing strength from those words. He knew what to do.

He pressed the lock to his own heart instead, and then pulled Yugi in for a tight hug, so that the lock would not fall. He concentrated as hard as he could, opening his heart and letting all of his light shine forth, praying that this would work. He had his chin resting on Yugi's shoulder, and he breathed softly.

"Come back to us."

His heartbeat seemed to grow loud, beating so strongly it sounded like a great drum. He felt his whole body shudder, and then, slowly, it began to melt away. Or rather, his spirit melted, fleeing the confines of flesh and retreating to the Millennium Puzzle, which still hung around his neck. Yugi's spirit stayed upright, as millions of tiny flecks of light began detaching themselves from Yami's body, and surging forward to blend with Yugi's spirit. The sound of the heartbeat continued steady and strong.

Yami watched the line of light spread down his arms, tracing lines of heat as they went. He watched the hands holding Yugi become translucent, and knew the exchange was complete. He was a spirit once again. And hopefully, with the life force he had, he would bring Yugi's soul back home.

When the light at last faded, he watched Yugi with the most exsquisite expression of impatience stamped upon his face. He held his breath until it would have hurt if he still had lungs.

_Please__,_he thought. _Please, this has to work..._

And then, miraculously, he could see the color returning to Yugi's pale face. His chest rose and fell softly, indicating breath. His eyelids wavered and cracked open, ever so slightly, revealing his wonderfully purple eyes, no longer stained with blood.

Yugi looked up blearily, puzzled. Deep amethest eyes drilled into his own, willing their life force into him. The image was fuzzy, and he faintly caught himself wondering who this man was, and why he was crying. And why his face seemed so very familiar...

Then a tear splashed onto his cheek and he understood.

"Yami?" he asked quietly, wondering why his partner had tears running down his face. His next coherent thought ran along the lines of figuring out what was making him sad, so he could figure out how to make him feel better.

"Yugi!" Yami cried, half-sobbing the words. He pulled Yugi into a sitting position and crushed him, hugging him so hard he robbed Yugi of breath. But Yugi didn't care. He never thought he would feel such an embrace again, and it felt so good to his weary mind.

After a second, Yugi found the strength to put his arms weakly around his "brother" and hug back. He felt so warm, and so safe, and everything in that one moment was exactly where it should be.

Yami let him go after an eternity, but he still kept his hands on the boy's shoulders. He wanted to ask so much,but he could find no words to speak. Yugi looked at him and smiled softly.

"It's okay. I'm alright."

It was all too much. Yami's lips trembled and a small, unsteady laugh escaped. All of the stress of these past few hours was weighing heavily on him, but he didn't care. Yugi was here, Yugi was safe and he was breathing and he was _here..._ and that was all that mattered. He laughed until fresh tears were streaming down his face, and Yugi joined in too.

Just another crazy adventure.

This time Yugi was the one who pulled Yami into the hug, for he was steadily growing stronger and his limbs were not so weak.

"I love you Yami," he whispered into Yami's hair.

"I love you too Yugi, you know that?" Yami whispered back.

"Of course I do." Yugi laughed. "Thank you for saving me."

Yami pulled back again and smiled. "Anytime."

The Shadow Realm began to dissipate and dissolve, fading away to flee before their bond. Both looked around at the park they knew so well, reflecting the early morning sun. They looked at each other.

"Brothers?" Yugi asked, holding out his hand.

"Brothers," Yami agreed solmenly, taking the offered grasp.

For always.

_**A/N: And that's that, ladies and gentlemen! The end. Fin. Uhhh... adios... No, wait, that's goodbye. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Until next time. Because there will be one. In the sequel. Um... I just have to write it first XD.**_


End file.
